New journey: America
by Yagami 85
Summary: Set during the time of Tatsuya's stay in the USNA. Tatsuya x Shizuku x Honoka x Lina
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Senators, Stars and deals

Disclaimer: I do not own Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei or any of its vibrant characters.

* * *

Year 2093, January 20, New York City Hotel, USNA, 12 p.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

As I waited for my guests to arrive in one of the hotel restaurant's private rooms, I decided to order something to drink first. Having picked up the menu, I quickly flipped through it to see what types of drinks the hotel restaurant offered. I quickly decided on a cappuchino and called a waiter over.

While the waiter was walking briskly towards my table, I noticed the appearance of guests. A woman with an older sister-like appearance and long, untied hair hanging over one side of her shoulder, as well as a beautiful 13 year old girl with blonde hair, a slim figure and clear blue eyes.

I raised my hand and waved them over. As I did so, the waiter had already appeared by my side and I quickly gave him my order.

"One cappuchino, please." I requested politely in English.

"Right away, sir." The waiter replied smoothly.

As the waiter left my side, he was immediately replaced by my two guest.

I quickly stood up, pulling one chair out and offering it to the older women. The older woman merely smiled at me, gave me a quick "thanks', before proceeding to sit down on the offered chair. I then pushed the chair in before doing the same for the 13 year old girl.

She may only have been 13 years old but she was still a lady, after all.

"Good afternoon, Ms Virginia Balance, Ms Angelina Shields." I greeted in English.

Surprised expressions came over both of their faces as they stared at me in wonder for a moment.

The older woman quickly recovered first as she greeted me back.

"Good afternoon to you as well, Mr Tatsuya Shiba." She said with a polite tone.

Upon hearing this greeting, the younger girl then swiftly proceeded to follow her senior's lead.

"Good afternoon, Mr Tatsuya Shiba." She greeted.

"Perhaps both of you were surprised at the fact that I could speak English?" I enquired.

"Ah…um…" The younger girl stuttered.

In stark contrast to the younger girl, the older woman with the older sister-like appearance was much smoother in her reply.

"Well, I have to admit that you surprised us. We didn't expect you to be able to speak English, especially not with such fluency. That's why we arranged for this meeting to take place in a popular western restaurant that catered to a lot of foreign Japanese clients." She conceded before adding.

"I do hope that you do not take offense, Mr Tatsuya Shiba."

"None at all, Ms Virginia Balance." I reassured her before adding.

"Shall we order our meals first, though?" I asked.

"Certainly." She replied.

Afterwards, all of us looked through the menu, with the two of them occasionally giving me some recommendations, before we proceeded to make our orders.

Having finished the small talk and formal greetings, as well as having made our orders, we decided to move our conversations towards discussing the real reason behind this meeting.

"So then, shall we officially start our meeting?" I enquired, this time in Japanese.

The two of them froze slightly when I changed the language I used but they quickly adapted.

"Certainly." They answered in unison, both using the Japanese language with great fluency.

As expected.

Ms Virginia Balance, or more accurately, Colonel Virginia Balance, was the USNA Joint Chiefs of Staff Intelligence Division, Internal Affairs, First Deputy Director. Having had extensive wartime experience during World War Three as well as during her many secret missions, she had come into contact with a lot of foreigners in the process, either facing them as their ally or as their enemy. As such, it was only to be expected for her to having gained proficiency in a variety of languages, such as Japanese.

Angelina Kudou Shields, a descendant of the Kudou Clan of magicians in Japan, she was also a rising star in the Stars, which was currently the most powerful force of magicians in the world. Given her Japanese ancestry and her many experiences with foreigners, though perhaps not as much as that of the Colonel, it was also not very surprising for her to have proficiency in the Japanese language as well.

"Today's meeting was supposed to be regarding the my recent investments in the USNA, including its distribution over the many states of the USNA and the terms, conditions, laws and tax rates that apply to it. Am I wrong, Virginia-san?" I asked.

"You are correct, Shiba-kun. Your recent investments in the USNA have caused quite a lot of concern among the higher-ups in the government. While the substantial investments you have made in the USNA are, of course, welcome, we are concerned about the possibility of you suddenly withdrawing your investments." She replied curtly.

"However, I believe that the amount of investments that I have made is quite insubstantial compared to the total amount of investment being made in the USNA." I replied back.

"While what you say is correct, I would like to remind you that the substantial investments you have made involves the creation and preservation of many jobs here in my country. This also means that should you suddenly withdraw all your investments, the total amount of job losses and the resulting adverse effects on the economies of many of the cities or states where you have made your investments in would be considerable. As such, we believe that negotiating the terms of your investments in my country would certainly be most necessary, Shiba-kun." She shot back with a curt tone.

In other words, we welcome your substantial investments into the USNA but we also consider it a threat as well. After all, you are still a foreigner. If you, as a foreign investor, were to suddenly withdraw all your investments, the resulting economic impact on our economy would be huge. To prevent such a scenario from happening, we would like to negotiate with you.

"Virginia-san, I believe that the USNA has laws meant for governing such foreign investments under its current open foreign investment policy." I stated flatly.

"Certainly, the USNA has such laws. However, Shiba-kun, the sheer scale of your investments in the USNA poses a serious concern to us, a concern that is not adequately addressed by the current laws in place." She replied curtly.

Well, she had a point.

The USNA has currently adopted an open foreign investment policy. This meant that foreign investors like me could easily invest in the country and it was this open policy that brought a lot of foreign investment into the country, thus benefitting its economy greatly. However, this open policy also meant that foreign investment could also easily leave the country as well. During the recent economic recession, the severe outflow of foreign investment had negatively affected the USNA economy, costing tens of thousands of jobs. That was probably why the higher-ups in the USNA government were so concerned over the possibility of me withdrawing all my investments.

However, that meant that the USNA government would be trying to lock up my investments and have it stay within the country, if only to preserve and create more jobs. Yet, I couldn't just allow them to do so since I might one day need to withdraw all my investments from the USNA.

"Even so, perhaps the USNA government is worrying too much over this issue, after all, to use the term 'serious' to describe the concern my investments have caused is a bit-" I began saying in an attempt to reject the negotiation however I was cut off by Virginia-san.

"Shiba Tatsuya, in the past month alone, you have made substantial investments in this country. During this process, you acquired many large companies, or blue-chip companies, that came from many different industries, some of which have little to no links with each other. The only factor that is similar across all these companies that you acquired are that they all have stable business models, stable cashflows and a steady rate of growth in their sizes and profits. You have also acquired many other assets like debt securities, including investment grade corporate bonds, and stocks. From all these investments and the nature of them, the USNA government has concluded that you are trying to obtain a steady stream of investment income. If that's the case, then we can conclude that you are unlikely to suddenly withdraw all of your investments from this country." She stated.

If they were expecting me to be surprised, then I suppose that they would have been disappointed right about now.

In response to all that Virginia-san has said, I did not show a single trace of surprise on my face. Instead, I merely looked on at the both of them calmly.

After all, the moment that the idea of such negotiations was pitched to me from the USNA government's side, I had already expected that they would have had me, my investments and the nature of my investments investigated. I had also expected them to come to such a conclusion as well, though in this case their conclusion was right.

However, since they knew that it was unlikely for me to suddenly withdraw all my investments from the country, then-

"Since you believe that I'm unlikely to suddenly withdraw all my investments from this country, then I believe that such negotiations are unnecessary." I stated with a curt tone.

"My opinion differs from that of yours, Shiba-kun. After all, though such a scenario is unlikely, the danger that such a scenario poses is still severe enough to warrant such negotiations." She replied back with a curt tone as well.

True…

She had a point.

The dangers that such a scenario would pose to the USNA's economy, or at the very least to the USNA states' economies where I made substantial investments in, were certainly quite severe.

Yet, such negotiations were not to my advantage at all.

I would receive no benefits should they impose restrictions on my investments

"Such a scenario is, as you have admitted, unlikely to happen. Perhaps you are worrying too much, Virginia-san. There are no benefits to be gained from such negotiations." I said, implying that they would have to twist this negotiation in my favour.

Having caught my hint, Virginia-san merely smiled at me before taking a document out of her bag and passing it to me.

I quickly took the document from her before swiftly proceeding to scan through it.

It was a small document, as befitting the simple proposal that it contained.

A 15% tax rate on all investment incomes, corporate profits and capital gains that my investments in the USNA make with no additional taxes or charges. This was much lower than the current tax rates in the USNA.

Furthermore, it applied to all my investments in the USNA, across all states.

However, the only catch was that I could not suddenly withdraw all of my investments in privately-listed companies. At most, I could only withdraw about 10% of my total investments in such privately-listed companies a year. Considering that I had bought over many publicly-listed companies via the stock market and had recently converted them into privately-listed companies, this was a severe restriction of my ability to withdraw all of my investments from the USNA.

Yet, the terms and conditions were incredibly attractive.

Furthermore, if I didn't agree, they would probably resort to other legal or illegal measures to keep my investment in the country. I could probably take on the USNA military in a military conflict but I would rather not use my power over something like this, especially not when the other side was being accommodating towards me.

"Your offer is very attractive, Virginia-san. I will consider it most seriously. Please give me a few days to consider it and I will get back to you at a later time." I said to her diplomatically.

In reality, though, I had already decided to accept the deal. After all, the advantages clearly outweighed the disadvantages of accepting such a deal.

However, it was best not to show too much enthusiasm for the deal in front of the other side. This would at least keep the other side as accommodating as possible.

"Certainly, Shiba-kun." Virginia-san replied.

Shortly after our negotiations had ended for the day, our meals had arrived and we proceeded to eat.

* * *

"Shiba-kun, can I take up a bit of your time?"

After our meeting and lunch had concluded, we proceeded to make our separate ways from the entrance of the restaurant. However, before I left, the young girl from earlier called out to me and made such a request.

"Yes, you can." I replied.

As she led me off to a corner, the questioning gaze of Virginia-san fell upon us. However, Angelina-san seemingly ignored her superior's gaze as she led us away from Virginia-san.

After we were at a suitable distance away from her superior, Angelina-san moved closer to me and whispered into my ear.

"Shiba-kun, I know that this may seem presumptuous of me but please remember that your actions have consequences. The USNA welcomes your substantial investments in this country but please understand our concern regarding a possible sudden withdrawal of all your investments from the country. We are not talking about thousands but tens of thousands of jobs and livelihoods that could be lost should such a scenario happen in our country." She whispered.

So she really did understand what the Colonel and I was talking about.

Not just a pretty face with combat skills but the intelligence to back it up, huh?

Regardless, reassuring her would be best for both sides for now.

"I understand, Angelina-san. Please be rest assured that I would take into account the livelihoods of the people of the USNA in the situation whereby I would have to withdraw investments from this country." I reassured with a calm tone.

A seemingly relieved expression came over her face, contrasting starkly with the impassive mask she had earlier on during our negotiations.

"I see. Thank you very much." She said even as she bowed deeply to me.

Soon after, she swiftly returned to the side of her superior and we waved each other goodbye.

* * *

Year 2093, January 20, An unidentified street in New York City, USNA, 12 p.m.

(Lina's POV)

As the car was moving along the street, I looked outside the window as I watched countless motorcycles and cars overtake us and each other. Though my sight was fixated on the moving vehicles, my mind was somewhere else.

That boy…

Shiba Tatsuya

The 'Strategic-Class' magician who singlehandedly wiped out an army from another world power, the Great Asian Alliance.

While he certainly didn't look lethal at all, the way he handled himself during negotiations provided more than enough evidence that he was not a normal person.

Right now, such a dangerous person was in the USNA, holding the power to destroy tens of thousands of jobs and livelihoods in the USNA and to plunge the USNA's economy even deeper into a recession.

He was a threat.

Yet, he couldn't be disposed of easily.

Even if the entire USNA military was sent against him, he would probably win. After all, based on the information gathered by the C.I.A. and the Stars, he had the power to destroy information structures, causing his targets to disappear, as if they never existed in the first place. Worse of all, his natural decomposition magic could be used over a wide range since it worked through the information dimension, where the concepts of distance and time do not apply. This meant that, if he really wanted to, he could theoretically strike any city in the USNA and completely destroy it.

Assuming that the entire USNA military was sent against him, and that they lost as they probably would, or in the case that the government decided to seize all of his investments in the country and have them nationalised, Shiba Tatsuya might decide to take revenge simply by destroying any city in the USNA. Such 'revenge' would have a devastating impact on the USNA, such as the great blow to the USNA's already weak economy, social unrest and widespread fear among the people, as well as the USNA's loss of power and influence on the international stage.

That said, he still had the power to deal a heavy blow to the USNA's weak economy simply by withdrawing all his investments from the country so in this regard, he held a trump card over us.

In that case, the best way to neutralize the threat would be to make peace with him and bring him over to our side.

Of course, to negotiate with such a dangerous person, and a 'Strategic-Class' magician no less, they had to send people who had a chance of taking him down, namely Colonel Virginia and I, though personally I do not think that we could take him even if we worked together.

"Lina, why are you just staring out of the window?" My superior, Colonel Virginia asked.

Her question caused me to snap out of my thoughts and I quickly turned my head to answer her.

"Ah! Um…I was just thinking of something, Colonel." I replied hastily.

A thoughtful expression came over the Colonel's face as she seemed to ponder over something.

"Hmm…I see. Well, I can't really blame you, Lina. After all, that boy is quite handsome." She said with a serious expression.

!

My face turned red.

"Co-Colonel! I was not thinking of such things!" I stammered out.

"Really, you weren't thinking of that boy?" She asked with a knowing tone.

Ugh…

"W-Well, I'll admit that I was thinking about that boy but it was not in the way that you are suggesting." I replied nervously.

"Oh? Then tell me, Lina, do you think that boy is handsome?" She asked with a teasing tone.

"!?"

Wha-What the?

How was such a thing related to our mission?  
W-Well, I'll admit that the boy was handsome.

Dark black hair with beautiful silver grey eyes.

A lean, muscular body clad in a long black jacket, a black buttoned-up shirt and a pair of long black pants.

While his appearance could not be considered to be very handsome, his features were still subtly alluring and the sense of mystery that surrounded him, complemented with the cold way in which he interacted with others, only served to make him more desirable-

And what the hell am I thinking about?!

"Lina, your face is all red." Colonel Virginia pointed out.

"I-It's not!" I protested though I privately agreed with her observation.

"Well, that's enough teasing for now. So Lina, what do you think of him?" She stated with a serious tone.

At her change of tone, I immediately schooled my features and adopted an impassive facial expression.

"He is a potential threat, Colonel. If he wanted to, he could deal a serious blow to the USNA in military,economic and political aspects. Yet, to eliminate him would be…unwise, assuming that it is even possible in the first place." I replied.

"…I concur, Lina. We do not want to provoke him right now. It would be best to make a friend out of him." The Colonel stated after having paused for a moment.

"Do you think that he will accept the deal?" I asked with curiosity.

"…"

"Colonel?" I asked again.

"As a high-level official in charge of the negotiations with him, I have to say that it may be difficult to get him to accept the deal. After all, the freedom to put in and withdraw all types of investments is highly valued by investors and is thus one of the cornerstones of the USNA investment policy. But personally, I think that he will agree to it." She replied with a thoughtful expression.

"Why?" I asked in confusion.

"He's not dumb, Lina. He probably knew that we were aware of his identity as the 'Strategic-Class' magician who wiped out an entire army sent from the Great Asian Alliance. In fact, he is probably also aware of our true identities and positions." She deadpanned.

At this revelation, I froze in stunned disbelief.

"H-He knew?!" I stammered out.

Upon seeing me like this, Colonel Virginia merely sighed before saying "You are still so naïve, Lina." before adding a "Well, it can't be helped. You're still young, after all."

"Anyway, agreeing to this deal, which I must say, has very attractive terms and conditions for him, would help him build a bridge between him and the USNA government. To put it more simply, it will help him build good relations with the USNA government, which would be very helpful considering that he is currently on the run from the Japanese government, unofficially at least." She explained.

"Wait, Colonel. You said that the Japanese government was currently unofficially after him. Why did they do such a thing? Why not just pin some random crime on him and use it as an excuse to arrest him?" I asked in confusion.

"That's because the Japanese government itself is divided over him. Some individuals, especially those in the military, think that he is a hero for saving Japan from imminent defeat. Don't forget that during the sneak attack that the Great Asian Alliance launched against Japan, the army that the Great Asian Alliance sent out heavily outnumbered Japan's forces. If Shiba Tatsuya had not intervened, then at the very least, a significant portion of Japan would have been taken over. Yet, there are also some within the government who think that Shiba Tatsuya should be subdued and put to use for the 'interests of Japan' and it is these individuals that are leading the hunt. Of course, those that think that Shiba Tatsuya is a hero are preventing the hunt from becoming official and are trying their best to obstruct it. Well, the result is that the hunt has been under-staffed with a severe lack of resources. Hence why Shiba Tatsuya has remained at large for so long." The colonel explained.

"…"

"I see. Thank you, Colonel. I understand now." I said before stating.

"I, too, hope that he would accept the deal. I don't want to make an enemy out of him."

* * *

Year 2093, January 25, New York City, USNA, 1 a.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

Currently, I was located at a street which had many large, two to three-storey houses along it. The houses along this street generally catered to well-off upper-middle class or rich families who were the only ones who could afford such houses.

Incidentally, the house of the New York City Police Commander-in-Chief and that of his family was also located along this street. I walked towards his house and waited outside the walls surrounding his compound, making sure to keep myself out of sight from the security cameras in this neighbourhood.

As I rested my back against the wall, I closed my eyes and used my 'sight' to observe the information structures of the 'objects' around me.

The house of the New York City Superintendent was large and consisted of two stories. The house had a backyard, which was guarded by two ferocious-looking dogs, and the entire compound was surrounded by a brick wall.

There were also many cameras located inside and outside the house.

8 cameras on the wall surrounding the compound.

10 cameras located in the backyard.

16 cameras located in the house.

Total number of cameras: 34

The bedrooms were mainly located on the second floor of the house, with the first floor containing only one bed room that was meant for the house maid.

Currently, all the inhabitants of the house were asleep.

There was also a study on the second floor, not far from the master bedroom, and this study contained a lot of files and two laptops.

Focusing my 'sight', I read and analysed the information structures of the cameras and the dogs before using my natural decomposition magic to decompose these information structures.

As a result, the cameras, the dogs and even the dogs' collars faded into non-existence.

I then used my 'sight' to read and analyse the information structure of the event of gravity acting on me before I decomposed the information structure of this event.

As such, I was temporarily freed from the constraints of gravity. I then jumped into the air, easily reaching a height that exceeded that of the wall, before I allowed myself to float down to the ground gently. When I was at a suitable height above the ground, I stopped using my natural decomposition magic and the effect of gravity came upon me again.

Landing on the grass with as little sound as possible, I proceeded to swiftly make my way forward to the house before I stopped at the front door. I then decomposed the lower half of the door before bending down and entering the house. Since only half the door was decomposed, the information structure of the door was not completely destroyed but merely 'damaged'. Therefore, I could use my 'Reconstruction' magic to reform the lower half of the door, thus fixing it in the process.

I then decomposed the information structure of the event of my action causing sound thus eliminating any sounds I made while I climbed up the stairs and made my way to the study.

The study room's door was locked and I quickly took out a professional lock picker and began picking the lock. After I heard the sound of a 'click', I realized that the door was unlocked and I entered the room, closing the door behind me in the process.

Using my 'sight' to observe the 'objects' around me, I was able to easily make my way across the dark room and I managed to reach one of his laptops. I quickly opened it and turned it on before proceeding to do the same for the other laptop.

As the screen showing a password login appeared on both laptops, I plugged in a special thumbdrive into each laptop.

These special thumbdrives each contained two programs, one of which specialised in the breaking of passwords and the other specialised in the collecting and copying of files located in a computer, laptop, tablet or mobile terminal.

As the specialised programs activated, I froze at the sound coming from outside the room. Using my 'sight', I could see that the Commander-in-chief was walking along the hallway and was heading towards the bathroom.

There was a chance that he would see the light that was emanating from the laptops as the light seeped through the openings located at the gap between the bottom of the door and the floor.

I quickly decomposed the information structure of the event of light seeping through such openings and the tension passed as the man entered the bathroom before locking it close.

Two small lights started flashing, each of which came from one of the special thumbdrives and I quickly took out the thumbdrives and placed them in my pocket before turning off and then closing the laptops.

I waited until the man had left the bathroom and returned to his room to sleep before I left the study. Quickly using my 'sight' to read and analyse the information structure of the lock, I quickly did the same for a small piece of metal that I held in my gloved right hand and used my natural decomposition magic to decompose specific parts of the metal piece to form a key.

I then used the newly-formed key to lock the study room's door so as to avoid drawing suspicion that the study had been broken into.

Afterwards, I swiftly left the compound via the way I entered.

* * *

Year 2093, January 27, Senate building in New York City, USNA, 11 a.m.

As I waited on the ground floor of the Senate building, a young man dressed in a black jacket, a pair of long black pants, and a white buttoned-up shirt complemented with a red tie approached me.

"You must be Mr Shiba Tatsuya." He said/greeted.

I turned my head to look at him before I answered with a curt tone.

"Yes, I am."

"I see. Shall we go to my office now?" He asked.

"Certainly." I replied in a polite tone.

Upon reaching the office, a young woman, looking to be in her early 30s, stopped us as she spoke to the young man.

"Senator, I didn't know that you had a guest that was scheduled to arrive at this time." She stated.

The young man's expression became a little panicked as he tried to reassure the woman, who was probably his secretary.

"Ah…Clara, I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you about it." He said with an apologetic tone of voice.

"You forgot?" The secretary (Clara) asked with an annoyed tone as she started to frown at him.

"Hahaha…"

The secretary continued to look annoyed for a moment before she turned her gaze towards me.

She quickly looked back at the senator whose expression seemed to be saying something along the lines of 'Please spare me for now. I don't want to be embarrassed in front of a guest.'

She then let out a sigh and her expression became that of a professional.

"Do the two of you require any drinks?" She asked politely.

"I do not require any. After all, this is only going to be a short meeting." I replied.

"I do not require any as well, Clara." The senator replied.

"…I see. Then, I shall not disturb you two from your work." She said as she moved out of the way.

The senator breathed a sigh of relief as he led me into the room.

Once we entered the room, he quickly made his way to the leather chair located at the wooden desk found in the centre of the room. For my part, I merely sat on a wooden chair across from him.

We looked at each other in silence for a moment before the senator broke the silence.

"Well then, Mr Shiba Tatsuya, I must congratulate you on a job well done. Without your support, that corrupt Commander-in-Chief and his cronies could not have been arrested." He started.

Apparently, the information I had collected from the laptops of the Commander-in-Chief of the New York Police contained records and evidence about his involvement as well as that of his subordinates in corruption, bribe-taking and embezzlement. He and his cronies had taken bribes from criminal organizations and had, in return, used his influence over the New York City Police to force it to apply less pressure on those criminal groups. He and his cronies had also sold the weapons and drugs that were confiscated from criminals on the black market, often with the support and cooperation of criminal organizations. Finally, he and his cronies had even embezzled funds from the police bank accounts, causing units of the New York Police force to have sub-par weapons and inadequate funding and staff thus threatening the lives and negatively affecting the performance of members the New York City Police force.

After collecting and analysing the information originating from his laptops, I arranged it neatly and sent it over to the Senator representing New York City in the country's Senate. The Senator then passed the evidence to his police allies whom proceeded to quickly use it as grounds for arrest and prosecution against the Commander-in-Chief and his corrupt cronies.

"I have heard that they were going to be charged." I said.

"Yes, you are correct. They are going to be charged with abuse of power, bribe-taking, embezzlement, corruption and dereliction of duty. They are likely to be prosecuted and if they are successfully prosecuted, they're going to be in jail for a long, long time." The Senator replied.

"I see. I'm glad that I was able to be of use to you, Senator Charles. I hope for a fruitful working relationship with you, Senator." I stated diplomatically.

"Of course, of course. Mr Shiba, out of curiosity, did you agree to the deal that was offered to you by the USNA government?" He asked with the same diplomatic tone as well.

"Yes, I did. The new conditions that the USNA government offered were what swung my decision towards agreeing with the deal." I replied smoothly.

15 % personal income tax and preferential treatment given to firms affiliated with me in regards to settling the legislative red tape that comes with company expansion and operations.

Certainly, holding out for a few more days was the right decision.

After all, such additional concessions would be considered to be highly valuable to any investor, including me.

"Now then, Senator. Are you going to fulfil your end of the bargain?" I asked.

"Of course, Mr Shiba. Here you go." The Senator said as he passed me a document.

I quickly flipped through the document to see if everything was there.

After confirming that there were no problems with the document, I quickly closed it and put it in my bag.

"There are no problems with this document, Senator. I know that this is rude of me but I apologize as I have a 'meeting' after this. Thus, I would have to leave now." I stated with a slightly apologetic tone.

"Ah, I see. That's too bad. I was hoping to have lunch with you. Well, don't let me hold you up. Go on, Mr Shiba." The Senator replied with an understanding tone.

At this reply, I quickly stood up and made my way out of the room.

* * *

Year 2093, January 27, Senate building in New York City, USNA, 11: 22 a.m.

(Senator Charles' POV)

"Senator, may I come in?" Clara asked from behind the door.

"Yes, you may." I replied.

As Clara opened the door and entered the room, she quickly closed the door and proceeded to lock it.

Uh oh.

Clara marched forward towards my desk and she stared at me in silence.

Crap.

She seems to be mad.

Then, she opened her mouth and began to speak.

I quickly flinched, expecting a lecture from her (again).

However, that was not the case for today.

"I'm not going to berate you over today's sudden meeting, Senator." She started.

"…"

"However, Senator, I worry for you." She stated with a worried tone.

"…Clara, don't worry. I'll be fine." I reassured her.

"Senator, that boy is dangerous!" She replied back sharply.

At this sharp reply, I merely looked at her calmly for a moment before replying back to her.

"I'm aware of that, Clara. However, for change to come to the USNA, his power is necessary." I replied with a calm tone.

"…"  
"Clara-" I started only to be cut off by her.

"Forget it. I know that when you set your mind on something, you won't give up so easily. Just tell me…what exactly did you pass to him?" She asked.

"…I gave him a form giving him legal immunity from any crimes committed on USNA ground as well as a list of criminal sites and their locations, as well as information regarding the gangs that are running those sites." I replied.

"…Senator, do you realize that you just gave him the crucial information that was necessary for him to attack criminal sites in New York City? Have you forgotten how he built up the bulk of his current fortune?" She demanded.

"I know, Clara. I know. However, if he destroyed those sites, the city will be safer for the people. It will also weaken the strong hold those criminals have over city politics." I replied.

"Even if the city does become safer, you are also going to be giving him more money and thus more power. Can we really afford that?" She asked with a questioning tone.

"We have to. It's either we succeed or the country continues to stagnate like it has been since the end of World War Three." I shot back.

"Do you really think that he is capable of bringing change to the USNA?" She asked with a sceptical tone.

After a short while, I answered her with a calm tone.

"Yes, I do. He succeeded with Tokyo, after all."

* * *

Well then, this is chapter 1 of the latest story: New journey: America.

Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Start of a partnership

Disclaimer: I do not own Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei or any of its vibrant characters.

* * *

Year 2093, February 15th, An unidentified neighbourhood in the City of Detroit, USNA, 1 a.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

The City of Detroit.

Historically speaking, it is a significant city of the USNA. Back before the USNA was formed, the City of Detroit was the home of the U.S.A's automobile industry in the 20th Century. However, as the fortunes of the U.S.A's automobile industry went down, so too, did Detroit's. Over the past several decades, despite numerous efforts at rehabilitation, most of which met with limited success, much of Detroit's problems still remain.

The city still had many nearly empty or completely abandoned neighbourhoods as many of the city residents migrated to other cities with better employment prospects. Unemployment remained stubbornly high. Public services and police units were inadequately funded and inadequately staffed thus resulting in a substandard performance of such services and units.

All these factors eventually contributed to high crime rates and a lack of public safety in this city.

But that was going to change, starting today.

As I leaned back against a wall in an empty back alley, I used my 'sight' to observe the 'objects' in my surroundings.

There were 25 houses in this neighbourhood, 14 of which were vacant.

3 houses were currently being occupied by normal residents, all of whom were currently asleep at this late time.

However, the remaining eight houses all possessed many stocks of illegal firearms and drugs.

While they looked empty from the outside, the interior of each house was guarded by eight fully armed men. The basement of each house had ten people, all of them packing or unpacking their illegal stocks.

The gang involved in this illegal business was had a lot of influence in Detroit. They mainly specialised in the illegal firearms and drug trafficking business. Having been attracted to Detroit due to the latter's poor police performance, endemic corruption and high drug usage, the gang decided to set up a base of operations here.

In order to prevent the interference of the police with their illegal activities, they had resorted to bribing corrupt police officers, and if that doesn't work, they would threaten those relatively upright police officers or their family to overlook their transgressions.

With their money and power, it was no surprise that this gang had a lot of influence over the city's politics. They were also joined by other player that were also large, dangerous gangs though not all of them specialized in illegal firearms and drug trafficking.

Getting rid of these gangs would open up a power vacuum in the city, which could then be filled up by more upright politicians that were friendly to me.

All of this would be necessary for my revolution.

Regardless, it was time to get to work.

Total number of houses to attack: 8

Total number of guards: 64

Total number of 'packers': 80

Total number of targets: 144

No cameras in the area.

All unrelated parties are currently asleep.

I then raised my right hand in the direction of the eight houses and proceeded to decompose the information structures of the bodies of all 144 targets.

As their bodies faded into nothingness, I quickly proceeded to decompose all the illegal stocks of firearms and drugs.

Soon, all traces of the gang's illegal operations in this neighbourhood disappeared, without a single sound being heard or a single light being seen.

One site down, five more to go.

* * *

Year 2093, February 25th, Military base located at former border between the former U.S.A. and the former Mexico, USNA, 8 p.m.

(Lina's POV)

As I was cleaning the barrel of my handgun on the table, Colonel Virginia walked up to my table and sat down next to me.

"Good evening, Colonel." I greeted with a polite tone of voice.

"Good evening, Lina." She greeted back.

As she watched me clean the barrel of my handgun in silence, I started to feel a little uncomfortable.

The Colonel never approached me out of curiosity or for small talk.

Every time we met or spoke to each other, it was always about serious business.

It was also unusual for her to approach me and then remain silent,

"Colonel?" I asked, implying that my question was related to her unusual silence.

"Lina, have you heard about the recent events in Detroit?" She asked, ignoring my implied question.

Detroit?

Ah…the recent crackdowns on crime that were launched by the police.

"Yes, I have, Colonel. If I'm correct, the mayor of Detroit had recently announced the success and continuation of the recent crackdowns on crime in the city. I have heard that the results of the crackdowns were very impressive." I replied with a slightly impressed tone.

Indeed, the results were splendid.

Crime rates were down by 65 %.

Gang violence and homicide rates were sharply down as well.

A large number of gang members were also arrested in the recent raids, ranging from drug-traffickers to those involved in the illegal firearms trading.

"Well, the results have certainly been quite impressive but there is something off about those raids." The Colonel interjected.

"Oh?" I queried in confusion.

"During these raids, a large number of weapons and drugs were confiscated. Many women trafficked into prostitution were also rescued. However, the total number and scale of criminal sites and operations that were raided are far below the level that is necessary to achieve such large reductions in crime." She explained.

"…Maybe the Detroit Police had also carried out many unreported raids due to the secrecy of some of their operations." I said in my attempt to offer an alternate explanation.

"That's impossible. The Detroit Police is heavily under-staffed and under-funded. The recent raids that they carried out had already stretched their capacity to the breaking point. Besides, haven't you wondered where the Detroit Police got their information from? How could they have known the exact locations of so many criminal sites with their limited work and intelligence capacity?" She questioned.

At these questions, I froze.

She was right.

How did the Detroit Police find out the exact locations of so many criminal sites, given its limited capacity?

How did the Detroit Police reduce crime rates to such an extent given that they had done far less than what is necessary?

"Finally, before the large-scale police raids occurred, the City Mayor suddenly purged the police and government administration ranks of officers and staff members suspected of corruption and collusion with criminal organizations." She stated with a serious tone.

!

That was just like the situation with-

"The situation was just like what happened with Tokyo, Lina. You know what that means." The Colonel said, a solemn expression gracing her face.

"He's moving." I finally said.

"Yes, Shiba Tatsuya has already started making his moves." The Colonel confirmed.

"…"

"What do we do, Colonel? Technically, he is interfering in the affairs of another nation." I asked.

"…"

"Colonel?"

"For now, we do nothing." She replied with a resigned tone of voice.

"But why, Colonel? We can't just let him go running about interfering with our nation's affairs. This is a breach of our sovereignty!" I said with a slightly outraged tone.

"He's not exactly running about without a leash, Lina. He is currently working with very powerful figures in the government. If we move against him, there would surely be serious reprisals against us." She explained.

"Is that all, Colonel? I never knew that you were the type to bend to pressure like this." I said with a bitter tone.

Yes, I know that I was being rude and could thus be charged with disrespecting a superior officer under military law.

However, this was the sovereignty of my country that we were talking about.

"The current mayor of Detroit is one of 'our' allies and Senator Charles is also fond of Shiba Tatsuya. According to the Senator, and I quote, "New York City never looked so safe!". He even added "That boy has done a splendid job!" and he made it clear to me that we are not allowed to interfere with Shiba Tatsuya in any way possible." The Colonel admitted, seemingly unfazed by my bitter tone of voice.

"…"

All I could do was remain silent.

So the recent reductions in crime rates in New York City were also his doing?

"Colonel, has he targeted any money-laundering sites recently?" I asked.

"Not recently. After all, he is currently busy cleaning up Detroit. Detroit also has little, if any, money-laundering sites." She replied with a curt tone.

"Then what about New York?" I questioned.

Just like how Tokyo was the financial capital of Japan, New York City was also the financial capital of the USNA. Furthermore, both countries had a highly advanced financial industry, though the financial industry of the USNA was larger and more developed than that of Japan. Therefore, both cities were prime locations for money-laundering sites, especially the major ones, to be set up and run from.

From the information that I was able to get, Shiba Tatsuya had attacked and then 'looted' all of the major money laundering sites in Tokyo. That was how he managed to gain his sudden enormous wealth.

New York City would have been a prime target for him as well since it contained even more major money-laundering sites than Tokyo.

"…We are unaware of the total number of money-laundering site in New York City. However, from what we could confirm, Shiba Tatsuya has already raided and 'looted' 60 major money-laundering sites in New York City, which is almost all of the major money-laundering sites in the city." She replied with a hesitant tone, which was rare for her.

"…"

"Well, the good news is that thanks to Shiba Tatsuya's actions, the Detroit Mayor has re-established full control over the Detroit government administration and the Detroit Police. Furthermore, Senator Charles has already put up a notion in the New York City parliament houses, calling for the impeachment of the current New York City governor, who is currently being embroiled in corruption investigations that had started due to some anonymous and timely information leaks." The Colonel stated, perhaps with the intention of cheering me up.

However, her efforts were in vain as my mind was fixated on the question of-

"Colonel, is it really alright for us to allow Shiba Tatsuya to gain so much power and influence, here in our country?" I asked.

At this question, the Colonel remained silent for a moment before giving me a reply.

"For now."

* * *

Year 2093, February 28th, New York City Senate Building, USNA, 5 p.m.

(Senator Charles' POV)

As I stepped up to the podium, I instinctively adjusted my jacket and clenched my fists in a bid to control my nervousness. Seriously, no matter how many years that I have done this, I still couldn't completely get rid of my nervousness whenever I have to speak in front of parliament.

Adjusting the mike to a more appropriate height, I bent down slightly and started to speak.

"To my fellow Senate members gathered here today, good morning. Today is the day that we shall finally vote on the impeachment bill of our most corrupted governor! For years, our governor has been accused of corruption, of bribe-taking, of abuse of power and of embezzlement. Yet, there has been no substantive evidence. But all that has changed in recent days. In recent days, the police have discovered evidence that could support such claims." I said with a serious tone.

Murmurs started to break out among the audience of Senate members as they started to discuss what I have said among themselves.

"In fact, the police is already prepared to charge him with those crimes. Had it not been for the fact that the governor enjoys legal immunity for as long as he stays in his post, he would have been arrested by now. Instead, he is still roaming free! Furthermore, he has repeatedly interfered with the probe, firing or re-shuffling upright police officers who were only trying to do their jobs!" I yelled out with conviction.

At this, the murmurs started to get louder and louder as a few people started to shout out in outrage at the governor's actions.

"Today, I ask this of all of you, please, help me stop the governor's crimes! The recent purges in the police force have ridded it of the majority of its corrupted officers. However, as long as that man stays in his post as governor, the corruption and abuse of power won't stop! As such, I am putting forth my support for the impeachment bill and I call for the rest of you to do the same!" I thundered.

The applause was deafening as many members of the city Senate stood up to clap and cheer.

* * *

Year 2093, February 28th, An unidentified office in the New York City Senate Building, USNA, 8 p.m.

"That was a wonderful speech, Senator." A familiar voice said.

Quickly turning my attention to the door to face the speaker, I was greeted by the sight of Colonel Virginia Balance.

"Colonel! What a surprise! What are you doing here?!" I said with a surprised tone.

"I wanted to see the outcome of the vote with my own eyes. Besides, the one who is most surprised is not you but me. I myself still can't believe the outcome of the vote. To think that the bill would be passed by an overwhelming margin of 55 Yes to 6 Nos." She stated with an impressed tone.

"Well, the fact that the top two allies of the governor in the city Senate were just recently arrested for corruption helped." I said sheepishly while scratching the back of my head.

"Certainly, the recent arrests were of great help to the passing of the bill. So what is going to happen to the governor, now?" She asked.

"Well, I just received news from my police allies that the governor has been arrested and will be charged. He is also most likely to be successfully prosecuted thanks to the strong evidence that boy gave us." I replied.

"And what of the empty governor's post?' She queried.

"The vice governor will take up that position for now. Don't worry, Colonel, the vice governor is one of 'us'. My term as Senator is going to end next month. Once it ends, I will stand for election to become the next governor of New York City." I explained.

At this explanation, the Colonel merely gave me a wry smile before she proceeded to sit down on the chair in front of me.

"In truth, Senator, I came here for another reason as well." She stated.

"Oh? What is it?" I asked.

"Regarding your recent request about Lina…" She said.

"Did she agree to it?" I asked.

"…Yes, she did. It's just that she has some misgivings about working together with that boy." She explained.

"…I see. Colonel Virginia, I would like you to reassure her that she would experience no problems working together with that boy." I said to her with a confident tone of voice.

"…Senator, why are you placing so much confidence in that boy?" She asked after a moment of hesitation.

"Colonel, though I have been working with him for a short time only, I can tell that he is highly efficient, very careful and very hardworking. He also keeps his word, no matter how onerous the work is. I know this from first-hand experience since the work that I passed to him to do was highly challenging and highly dangerous, to say the least. Personally, I feel that he is very similar to Lina. Though he is admittedly smarter, more vicious and more dangerous than Lina. As such, I believe that he would make a good partner for Lina." I replied with honesty.

"…"

"…Very well. I understand, Senator. I will go and reassure her." She finally said.

With that, she stood up and left, leaving me alone in the office.

Well, even though I said all that…

I just hope things turn up well between the two of them.

* * *

Year 2093, March 1st, Los Angeles, USNA, 12:30 p.m.

(Honoka's POV)

As I sat at the small table, eating a plate of linguine covered with white cream sauce and some small pieces of ham, I nervously glanced upwards to look at my companion.

As I raised my eyes up to look at Tatsuya-kun, our eyes met and I quickly looked down in embarrassment.

Right now, I was currently eating lunch with Tatsuya-kun, the boy who saved me from those criminals back in Tokyo.

After I finished negotiating with Shizuku-chan back when we were on the ship, we had decided on a fixed schedule. Every morning, we would, if Tatsuya-kun's schedule allowed it, have breakfast together, all three of us. I would then eat lunch with Tatsuya-kun, just the two of us. But during dinner, I would eat alone while Shizuku-chan ate her dinner with Tatsuya-kun.

We promised not to get into each other's way and to try to be as accommodating to the other side as possible. Finally, we also promised that we weren't let this 'strange' relationship hurt the friendship between the two of us.

For today's lunch, Tatsuya-kun had personally cooked for both Shizuku-chan and I.

While Shizuku-chan was taking her meal upstairs, both Tatsuya-kun and I were eating downstairs in the dining room of our Los Angeles home.

Now, don't get me wrong.

It's not that I do not want to spend time alone with Tatsuya-kun.

I do.

I really do.

And it's not like I do not appreciate the effort he has put into making our meal.

In fact, I had no reason not to appreciate the efforts he had put in. After all, this plate of linguine was the best I had ever tasted in my life.

However, what was rather depressing for me was that-

"Does he really need to be better than me even in cooking?" I muttered out.

"What was that, Honoka-chan?" He asked.

"N-Nothing!" I quickly stammered out.

Between me and Shizuku-chan, I was the one who was better with housework like cooking and cleaning while Shizuku-chan was the one who was better with things like business and investment, considering that she is the biological daughter of the Kitayama Ushio, who was the head of the Kitayama financial group before he died.

However, both of us met our match in Tatsuya-kun.

Not only was Tatsuya-kun more knowledgeable and adept at handling business management and investments than Shizuku-chan, his cooking and cleaning skill would put a seasoned housewife to shame, let alone me.

"Honoka-chan, now that we have some time alone, I would like to apologize to you." He suddenly said.

Eh?

Apologize to me?

For what?

"For the past two months, I have been so busy with work and I feel as though I have neglected both you and Shizuku-chan. I even had the two of you moved around so many times, first from the harbour to New York City then from New York City to Detroit. Afterwards, we even moved from Detroit to Los Angeles." He explained.

"No, no. Neither I nor Shizuku-chan blames you for it. It can't be helped since its work, after all. And besides, you always make time to have breakfast, lunch and dinner with us. That is already more than enough." I said.

A relieved expression came over his face as he apologised.

"Thank you for your understanding, Honoka-chan and I'm really sorry for all the strain I have been putting you under. I'm sorry that you have such a useless companion."

"Don't say that, Tatsuya-kun! You are not a useless companion! If anything, I should be the one apologizing! The one who is taking care of both Shizuku-chan and I is you, after all." I quickly said.

A genuine smile appeared on Tatsuya-kun's face and I was momentarily captivated by it.

Then, I realized what I said and I flushed deeply.

Seeing me flush, Tatsuya-kun merely chuckled wryly before he got off from his chair and moved towards me.

As his face neared mine, I flushed even more deeply than before as I averted my eyes from his gaze.

His lips then gently met mine before moving away.

A simple peck on the lips.

That was all there is to it.

However, a second after our lips separated, I was overcome by a fierce desire and our lips met again.

This time,

it was not a simple peck.

It was not even a gentle kiss.

It was a passionate kiss,

one which had our tongues wrestling furiously with each other as they explored the insides of our mouths.

His tongue came over mine and it slowly flicked upwards, massaging my own tongue in the process.

I moaned slightly in pleasure and his hands moved up my back and clutched the back of my head, pulling me in closer to deepen the kiss.

Soon after, he started removing the shoulder straps of my shirt as he laid kisses on my neck.

Ding dong!

The bell rang.

That snapped us out of our frenzy and we quickly separated from each other.

We looked at each other in silence for a moment before Tatsuya-kun coughed lightly.

"Um…I should get the door." He said with an awkward tone.

"Y-Yeah." I replied with a stammering tone.

As he left the dining room and made his way to the door, I tried my best to make myself look presentable.

During our kiss, my hair had become ruffled and my clothes were now slightly crumpled. Furthermore, I was now shirtless, my upper body clad only in a bra.

I blushed.

If we had continued, what would have happened?

What would we have done?

* * *

Year 2093, March 1st, Los Angeles, USNA, 1 p.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

As I made my way to the door, I quickly tried to compose myself and made myself look presentable. I quickly reached the door and looked through the hole that was present on the door.

My eyes widened in surprise and I quickly opened the door, only to be greeted by the sight of-

"Angelina-san?"

* * *

Well then, Chapter 2 is done! Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Change

Disclaimer: I do not own Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei or any of its vibrant characters.

* * *

Year 2093, March 1st, Los Angeles, USNA, 1:30 p.m.

(Lina's POV)

As I sat down on the plush chair, Tatsuya-san sat across from me, facing me from the other side of the table. He extended his right hand out and gently pushed a cup of coffee towards me.

"Here, I've prepared some coffee for you. I hope you don't mind coffee with milk, Angelina-san." He said.

"No, I don't mind. Thank you for your kind hospitality, Tatsuya-san." I replied with a polite tone.

"No problem." He stated.

A moment of silence came upon the two of us as I brought the cup to my lips and took a sip of the coffee.

Not bad.

Usually people would just leave the job of making the refreshments to the HAR yet he decided to do it himself.

How odd.

Well, the results were quite good though.

In fact, his handmade coffee with milk was splendid.

As I started to put my cup down, Tatsuya-san straightened his posture and looked at me.

"Angelina-san, may I ask the reason for your sudden visit to my residence?" He asked impassively.

So much for continuing to enjoy my coffee.

Regardless, business was business.

"I apologize for the sudden visit, Tatsuya-san. However, there is an important reason behind this." I replied with a calm tone of voice.

"Oh? And what is this reason, Angelina-san?" He queried.

"Tatsuya-san, please don't play dumb. You should know very well the reason as to why I'm here." I replied with a slightly sharp voice.

At this statement, his eyes narrowed slightly at me, though his face still remained impassive.

"I believe that I have already informed Virginia-san about my decision regarding the deal she proposed. My answer, as I have already told her, is yes. In fact, I have already signed the agreement. Now that the deal has been concluded, I'm afraid that I cannot think of any other reason behind this sudden visit, Angelina-san." He said with a diplomatic tone.

So he was going to keep playing dumb till the end, huh?

"Tatsuya-san, tell me, why do you need such a large and stable investment income stream? Furthermore, why did you recently start a new company called Silverware in the USNA?" I questioned (interrogated).

"As an investor with substantial wealth, is it not natural for me to want to preserve my wealth in safe, stable investments that can provide me with a large income stream? In addition, the new company that I had recently started, Silverware, specializes in CAD software and hardware, as well as in other types of software such as financial management software. All of which are products that face increasingly high demand in the USNA. Is it really so odd for me to want to tap into this rich and growing market by starting up this new company?" He asked back.

"True, your actions are certainly not unnatural. However, one thing that strikes me as odd is that there is an unusually high number of foreigners working in your new company." I pointed out.

"Many companies in the USNA hire foreign workers to meet their labor needs, especially technology companies, given that there simply aren't enough skilled workers in the USNA." He answered pointedly.

"Tatsuya-san, all of these foreigners working in your new company are Japanese." I stated.

"And? I merely found them back when I was still in Japan. As they had the skills I needed to set up and run Silverware, I simply helped them acquire visas before hiring them to work in my company." He replied.

"Oh? Is meeting the demand of this "rich and growing market" and earning profits your only goal, Tatsuya-san? The development of CADs can be potentially dangerous, you know, especially if the data regarding such development or the finished products themselves fall into the wrong hands." I stated with an inquiring tone.

"Do not worry, Angelina-san. The data and products of such development by my company are safe. They are guarded day and night by highly trained security guards and magicians equipped with the latest in security technology." He replied with a slightly confident tone.

"I see. By the way, I have heard that the Japanese magician community here in the USNA has recently gotten their hands on some brand new CADs made by Silverware. I have checked out the specs of the CADs and I must say, I'm quite impressed. They are, by far, the best CADs currently being sold in the USNA and, dare I say this, one of the best CADs on the world market." I said.

"Thank you for your kind compliment, Angelina-san. It is my wish that Silverware would one day take the top spot in the world CAD market." He replied with a humble tone.

"Quite ambitious, aren't you?" I said.

"Well, we all have dreams. Besides, the Japanese magician community has been most supportive of Silverware. Their support as beta testers has been invaluable to Silverware's recent success." He said.

"I see. So that's why they managed to get their hands on such advanced CADs before everyone else." I mused.

"However, the number of close links you have forged with the Japanese foreign workers in your company as well as with the Japanese magician community here in the USNA could lead to some rather…unsavory rumors, Tatsuya-san." I stated.

"Oh? And just what might those rumors be, Angelina-san?" He asked with a suspicious tone.

"Well, there are all kinds of rumors floating around. Some of them, though, are stating that you are planning something." I replied.

"Those rumors are nonsense. I have come here to the USNA for business, no more, no less." He said dismissively.

"Really, then tell me, Tatsuya-san. Why have you been attacking criminal sites lately?" I enquired.

At this question, he froze-

Is what I would like to say.

In reality, he did not show any reaction at all to that question of mine.

Instead, he merely stared at me calmly before a slight smirk came over his face.

"As expected, you're a member of the revolution. The American version of it anyway." He stated.

"…"

"What makes you think that I'm not a supporter of or spy for the current ruling establishment?" I questioned calmly.

"The only person who knows the location of my current residence is Senator Charles, the one who arranged the meeting between Colonel Virginia Balance and me in the first place. In that case, for you to have found me, you must have been told of my current location by the Senator. The question, then, is why. Why has he told you of my current location? What does he intend to achieve by doing such a thing?" He explained before asking some questions of his own.

Just now, he referred to the Colonel by her rank.

So, it was just as the Colonel had expected.

He knew who the Colonel really is.

He knew who I really am.

He knew about our links to the Stars and the involvement of the Stars in the revolution.

Then, there is no longer any need to maintain a pretense.

As if sensing my thoughts and agreeing with it, a serious expression came over Tatsuya-san's face as he looked at me.

"Angelina Kudou Shields, tell me, what does the Senator want with me? Or to be more exact, what does the Senator want to offer to me?"

* * *

Year 2093, March 1st, Los Angeles, USNA, 2 p.m.

Operation Changement

A one and a half year operation involving a major clean-up of crime in many cities of the USNA.

Hence the name Changement, which meant Change in French.

This operation would utilize both legal and extra-legal means to fulfil this mission.

The process of the operation is as follows:

Members of the Stars, the USNA army's magician force which was also one of the strongest magician forces in the world, would secretly carry out strikes on major criminal sites in the USNA.

Such secret operations would be performed without the knowledge or consent of Washington nor of the local authorities.

Any member that are about to be captured during such strikes were to be eliminated immediately.

Should any member be successfully captured, the Stars high command will deny all involvement and responsibility regarding the issue.

All incriminating information regarding corrupt officials and politicians obtained during such strikes were also to be immediately passed to specific high-ranking police and political members of the revolution.

During this mission, Shiba Tatsuya is allowed to participate as a foreign ally of the revolution as long as he agrees to the following terms of the proposed agreement:

Firstly, Shiba Tatsuya would assist the Stars or any other comrade of the revolution if necessary. This includes providing them food and shelter if they need a place to hide and to protect them or fight alongside them if faced with enemies that they could not handle by themselves.

Secondly, every three months, Shiba Tatsuya will be obligated to successfully attack and destroy a specified number of major criminal sites. Failure to meet this quota even once would immediately result in the termination of the agreement.

Thirdly, Shiba Tatsuya is not allowed to divulge any information about the revolution to any party except those who are affiliated with the revolution.

In return, Shiba Tatsuya will be given legal immunity during the course of his duties.

In addition, Shiba Tatsuya will be given free reign over his decisions regarding the elimination of major criminal sites, as long as such raids are not revealed to the public or the government and that no innocent citizen of the USNA is harmed during the process.

Finally, all the 'loot' that Shiba Tatsuya gained during such raids will belong to him and will not be confiscated by members of the revolution.

This included all the money that he was making from those 'reverse money-laundering' raids that he was carrying out.

This was the deal that was offered to Shiba Tatsuya in order to formally enlist his aid in the coming revolution in the USNA.

Now that such a deal has been offered to him, I had to wait as he carefully pondered over whether to accept it or not.

* * *

Year 2093, March 1st, Los Angeles, USNA, 2:10 p.m.

After having pondered over his options for the last ten minutes, he finally sat up straight and spoke to me.

"Before I agree to this deal, I have a few conditions that I would like to add." He said with a firm tone.

I looked at him carefully for a moment before answering back.

"Name them." I stated.

"Firstly, the two girls whom are under my care are not to be harmed or involved in the revolution in any way." He said.

The two girls that were currently under his care…

That would be Kitayama Shizuku and Mitsui Honoka.

The two 'daughters' of the former head of the Kitayama family.

If I'm correct, Kitayama Shizuku was the current heir-apparent of the Kitayama financial group, which was a large financial company with many branches providing financial services around the world.

However, even though Kitayama Shizuku was the heir apparent, she could only inherit her father's 20 % stake in the company.

The one who was currently the majority shareholder was Shiba Tatsuya, who held a 75% stake in the company, having acquired Kitayama Shizuku's relatives' 70% stake via a private transaction and the remaining 5% stake via the stock market.

Still, Shiba Tatsuya had left the management of the firm largely intact and in the hands of the board of directors, who were admittedly very capable people chosen by Kitayama Ushio himself.

He even left Kitayama Ushio's daughter, Kitayama Shizuku, as the heir-apparent, even though he could have taken over the company himself.

Then there was his relationship with Mitsui Honoka, the other 'daughter' of the former head. Right now, all the Stars had been able to gather about his relationship with her was that he had saved her shortly after saving her 'sister', Kitayama Shizuku.

Yet, despite their many links to Shiba Tatsuya, these two girls largely had nothing to do with the revolution.

Harming them would certainly not been in our best interest, considering that performing such an action would set a 'Strategic-Class' magician after our heads.

Involving these two twelve year old girls with the revolution would also bring no benefit to us, considering that they had received no training and weren't even aware of the coming revolution.

Both the Senator and the Colonel would thus surely have no problem if I said-

"No problem. Anything else?"

"There is no way that your higher-ups would allow me to have free reign over my own activities as I carry out my raids. Tell me, who have they sent to monitor me?" He questioned with a suspicious tone.

"That would be me." I replied firmly and confidently, resisting the urge to look away when his suspicious gaze fell upon me.

"I see. Then the second condition is that you are not allowed to interfere with my operations in any way possible. You shall assist me when I ask for it and you shall remain on standby at a location close to my raids when I do not require your assistance. That way you could 'observe' me regardless of whether I call for your assistance or not." He said.

"…Very well. My only mission is to observe you and, if necessary, to aid you." I said carefully.

"Your help will be much appreciated, Angelina-san. After all, the aid of a member of the Stars would be invaluable in my future operations." He replied with diplomatic praise.

"Is that all of your conditions, Tatsuya-san?" I asked.

"Yes, that is all. Since you have agreed to all of my conditions, then I can only agree to this deal that your side has made." He replied.

"I see." I stated as I stood up and extended my right hand towards him.

"Then, I look forward to working together with you." I said.

"I look forward to working together with you as well, Angelina-san." He said as he took my hand and shook it.

* * *

Year 2093, March 1st, An unidentified car on the streets of Los Angeles, USNA, 2:30 p.m.

"So that's the situation, Colonel. I apologize if I have overstepped my bounds." I said over the phone.

"…No, Lina. You did a good job. Those conditions he added will cause us no trouble at all. More importantly, we have now gained a 'Strategic-Class' magician as an ally. This will surely help us when we finally launch the revolution." The Colonel replied calmly after having paused for a moment.

"Then, the revolution is going as planned, Colonel?" I inquired.

"Yes, it is." She answered with a serious tone.

"Lina, about Shiba Tatsuya…" She started.

'What about him, Colonel?" I queried.

"As long as he doesn't do anything overboard and breaks the terms of the agreement, you can just leave him be. During your partnership with him, you would probably encounter a lot of dangerous opponents. I want you to be careful when facing them. One slip-up is all you need and you may end up dead. However, I also want you to learn from these experiences that you are about to go through and strengthen yourself. Don't forget, you have a lot of potential, Lina." She stated with a sincere tone.

"Colonel…" I said, touched by her concern and goodwill.

"Oh, by the way, Lina. If you end up falling for Shiba Tatsuya, you ought to watch out for those two girls he is taking care of. I wouldn't be surprised if those two had taken a fancy to their savior and you can probably expect some serious competition from them." She said with a teasing tone.

"W-What are you talking about, Colonel? I don't feel that way about him at all!" I stammered out, my face red.

"Oh, I see. So you're a late bloomer, huh? In that case, take your time. I'm sure you will gradually come to like him over time. He is quite a catch, after all." She continued.

"Colonel! I'm a professional! I will not pursue such a relationship with an 'ally' whom I don't know if I could trust yet!" I protested.

"Really? Well, I get that you are a professional and all but think about it. He is young, rich and handsome. He also has a dark and mysterious aura around him. Not to forget that he is incredibly deadly, knows how to fight and according to the Senator, has a good work ethic, though his work is admittedly dangerous. Personally, I would think that he would make the perfect boyfriend." She said as she continued to mercilessly tease me.

"W-What are you saying, Colonel?!" I shouted out in embarrassment.

"Hahaha, Lina. Don't be so uptight. I'm just teasing you." She said with an amused tone.

"Well, pardon me for not feeling amused Colonel." I grunted out.

"Okay, okay. I will stop teasing you." She said with a placating tone before her voice became serious.

"But seriously, Lina. Be careful out there. Don't push yourself too hard. You've always had the bad habit of doing that." She warned me.

I cringed a little at the truth of her words.

Certainly, I sometimes pushed myself too hard.

As a result, I had overstrained myself both mentally and physically.

Unfortunately, I was, by my own admission, a very stubborn person.

Thus the reason why I had not fully learnt my lesson yet.

Regardless, the only thing I could do now was to reassure my superior who was genuinely concerned about my well-being.

"Don't worry, Colonel. I will keep that in mind." I reassured her with a firm voice.

"I see. Very well then." She said solemnly before ending the conversation.

However, just before she disconnected herself from the line, she added one more statement.

"Stay safe, Lina. I still want to see you get together with that boy."

"C-Colonel!"

* * *

Year 2093, March 1st, New York City Senate Building, USNA, 2:40 p.m.

(Virginia's POV)

As I disconnected from the line, I started to place my mobile phone back into my pocket.

"You sound like an older sister that is constantly worrying about her younger sibling." Senator Charles commented.

At this comment, I merely let out a small laugh as I brought my hand to my mouth.

"Hahaha, you may be right, Senator." I said with an amused tone.

"Hmm…"

"Colonel, why are you so worried about Lina? Have you forgotten that, despite her young age, she is still a member of the Stars?" He asked with a curious tone.

"…"

"Yes, I know that she is a member of the Stars and thus would be able to handle herself well should she be suddenly faced with a dangerous situation. However, Lina is still young. She is also quite naïve as well. That naivety and that innocence of hers could one day come back to bite her." I replied with a slightly worried tone.

"Oh?" He asked, intrigued by my slightly vague reply.

"Lina is a very talented magician and as a soldier, she is certainly excellent. However…she is driven by a delusional belief that because she has such talents at her disposal, and others don't, then she should be the one to make the sacrifice and put these talents to use for the country, placing all of the burden on her shoulders. In other words, she has no selfish desire, no selfish wish, all she wants is to serve her country." I explained with a weary tone.

"Doesn't that make her the ideal soldier, Colonel?" He pointed out.

"Well, it does. That much I would admit. But she is still a person, a human being, to live like that…without desiring anything for herself, that would be too sad, too tragic." I said with a tinge of sadness in my voice.

"In that regard, she is very similar to Mr Shiba Tatsuya." The Senator commented with a wry tone.

"True. When Shiba Tatsuya was still a Yotsuba guardian, he was rather similar to Lina. They are both incredibly talented and powerful individuals. They both had no selfish desire of their own. He only had his duty and his one wish to serve and protect his master, Shiba-no Yotsuba Miyuki. Lina, on the other hand, only wanted to serve her country, which in this case, could be seen as her master. However, currently, there is a crucial difference between them." I said.

"Oh? And what is it?" He enquired with a curious tone.

"Now that Shiba Tatsuya is no longer bound to this duty, he can focus on pursuing his own goals, his own desires. One of which is to bring change, as evidenced by his actions in Tokyo. However, Lina, on the other hand, is still bound by her own delusional and self-sacrificial belief." I stated with a melancholic tone.

"It truly is sad. But right now, we need her strength, Colonel. We can't push her to change, especially at this crucial time." He said with a firm tone.

"I know that, Senator. Still, I wish…" I mused.

"You wish?"

"I wish that after all this is over, Lina would finally discover a desire of her own, one that she would pursue, not for the benefit of the country nor for the sake of others, but for her own benefit." I finished with a sad tone.

* * *

Year 2093, March 1st, Los Angeles, USNA, 11:10 p.m.

(Shizuku's POV)

"You're going to 'work', aren't you?" I asked.

At the entrance of the house, with his hand on the handle of the closed door, Tatsuya-kun froze for a moment when he heard my voice.

"Shizuku-san, you should be asleep right now. You still need to study tomorrow." He said as he turned to look at me.

"Staying up a little won't affect my academic performance. Besides, since I'm being homeschooled, I can wake up a little later than normal students so I should be able to get enough rest. You of all people should know that, sensei." I replied with a sharp tone as I emphasized the last word.

"…"

Indeed, right now, I was being homeschooled by Tatsuya-kun.

Apparently, Tatsuya-kun already had university-level qualifications, though I do not know when he actually got them, let alone how he actually convinced the university to allow him to take the exam, given his young age.

Ever since we moved to the USNA, I was being homeschooled by Tatsuya-kun along with Honoka.

Given the fact that the USNA's curriculum was in English, and that both Honoka's and my English still wasn't very good, Tatsuya-kun had decided to delay our entry into a middle school in America. Instead, he decided to teach us our subjects' content instead.

He taught us Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Japanese language, Economics and English. He said that though he had planned to send us to a Japanese International school in the USNA, in recent times, such schools were starting to teach more and more of their subjects in English, thus the need to drastically improve our English language skills before we would be enrolled into school.

As such, every day, he would, without fail, spend three to four hours teaching both Honoka and I. Well, it was a good thing that he was an effective teacher so the two of us were easily able to understand the subjects' content.

Still, just because I was busy with studying didn't mean that I didn't notice such things.

Every morning, at 10 am sharp, he would eat breakfast with both Honoka and I.

At 10: 40 am, we would finish our breakfast and Honoka would start cleaning up the table and utensils while both Tatsuya-kun and I went to do our own work.

At 12 pm noon, he would eat lunch with Honoka while I would eat alone. At 1 pm in the afternoon, we would finish lunch and he would immediately start teaching us.

Between 4 to 4:30pm, we would stop the lesson and both Honoka and I would retire to our rooms to do self-study while Tatsuya-kun would continue with his own work.

At 7 pm sharp, he would eat dinner together with me while Honoka ate alone.

At 8 pm, we would finish dinner and we would head off to our own room for work.

At around 11 pm, a time when he presumed that both Honoka and I would be asleep, he would secretly leave the house to carry out his own missions while a few security guards (when did he hire them, I wonder) would take up positions near the house and start securing the area.

Then, at 7 am sharp, he would return to the house and continue with his work.

At 10 am sharp, he would eat breakfast with us again and the whole cycle would repeat.

In other words, he didn't seem to rest at all. It was as if he didn't need sleep.

What incredible vitality.

Yet, I knew that such a schedule could not be good for him, both mentally and physically.

Regardless, I couldn't stop him.

I didn't have the power or the right to force him to stop.

Neither did Honoka.

Right now, the one who was sheltering us, protecting us, feeding us, raising us, teaching us and loving us was him.

We couldn't even catch up to him.

I couldn't even catch up to him.

However, just because I couldn't stop him, didn't mean that I couldn't do something for him.

I started walking towards him slowly.

And as my body neared his,

I extended my arms out

and wrapped them around his waist.

One of my hands then reached up

and cupped the side of his face.

Then,

using that hand,

I brought his face closer to my own

as I leaned in

and our lips

met.

As we separated from each other, I started speaking.

"I know that I can't stop you…just"

I swallowed before continuing.

"Just come back safe, Tatsuya-kun."

At this request, he merely stared at me with eyes filled with affection before he gave his reply.

"I always will, Shizuku-san."

* * *

Year 2093, March 2nd, The roof of a tall, unidentified building in Los Angeles, USNA, 12:20 a.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

As I sat on the roof of this tall building, I slowly took a deep breath before letting it out. The cold wind blew gently against my face as I relaxed and closed my eyes.

I then opened my eyes again before proceeding to use my 'sight' to observe the 'objects' around me.

The roof of the building that I was on is located in the centre of Los Angeles and it also provided me with a good vantage point from which I could view the entire city.

It was indeed a good place to use my 'sight' to observe the entire city.

150 major drug trafficking, production and distribution sites.

50 major illegal arms trafficking sites.

200 major sites of gang activity, including negotiations and trading between different gangs and gang fights.

70 major sites of human trafficking.

8 major sites of money-laundering.

No cameras at any of the sites.

Designated targets:

130 major drug trafficking, production and distribution sites.

50 major illegal arms trafficking sites.

150 major sites of gang activity

Original number of major criminal sites: 478

Total number of targeted major criminal sites: 330

Total number of people in those sites: 10200

All designated human targets are armed, though to varying degrees, with no innocent bystanders within them.

Information regarding the remaining 140 major criminal, non-money laundering sites, will later be passed on to my USNA police 'allies' whom could then carry out large-scale crackdowns on those sites in order to explain the sudden reduction in crime.

During the police crackdown on the remaining 140 major criminal, non-money laundering sites, I would raid and 'loot' the remaining eight major money-laundering sites.

The end result would be an unprecedented fall in crime rates in Los Angeles and thus a surge in support among the public for my USNA 'allies'.

As I turned on the communication device that was attached to my ear, the line connected and a familiar voice came out.

"Tatsuya-san, I have already reached my designated location. As you have ordered, I have remained hidden. But why did you ask me to observe this major illegal arms trafficking site?" Lina asked with a confused tone.

"It is necessary. The time has come for me to show you my ability." I replied with an impassive tone.

"Your…ability?" She queried.

"Yes. For now, just watch."

I then used my 'sight' to read and analyze the information structures of all my designated targets before I proceeded to use my natural decomposition magic to decompose these information structures.

As a result, all the criminals, the weapons, the machines and the tools that were originally located in those criminal sites disappeared, as if they never existed in the first place.

Operation Changement had begun.

* * *

Chapter 3 is finally done! Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Revolution

Disclaimer: I do not own Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei or any of its vibrant characters.

* * *

Year 2094, September 2nd, A van on an unidentified street in the capital City Morelia of the State of Michoacan, former Mexico, USNA, 1 a.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

As I closed my eyes and focused on using my 'sight', I observed the 'objects' in my surroundings, analysing and reviewing every aspect of this city.

Every trade, every conversation, every transaction and every action.

All of these events were accompanied by information.

As I could read and analyse information structures via my 'sight', I could view all these events and understand them.

As such, I became 'aware' of everything that was happening in this city.

I became 'aware' of everything that was a part of this city.

This was, quite literally, the ultimate information gathering ability, one that surpassed all other modern forms of information gathering and espionage.

Hence, this meant that I knew about all the criminal activities that were taking place in this city.

Right now, the current situation was this.

There were a total of:

300 major drug production, distribution and trafficking sites.

80 major illegal arms trafficking sites.

250 major sites of gang activity, including negotiation areas and fighting areas between different gangs.

100 major illegal human trafficking sites.

No cameras at any of those sites.

No suspected innocent bystanders located at or near those sites, aside from the victims themselves in the human trafficking sites.

Designated targets:

270 major drug production, distribution and trafficking sites.

70 major illegal arms trafficking sites.

210 major sites of gang activity, including negotiation areas and fighting areas between different gangs.

Original number of major criminal sites: 730

Total number of major criminal sites targeted by me: 550

Total number of major criminal sites to be attacked by my 'allies': 180

All designated human targets are armed, some lightly armed with only a handgun but some were fully armed with combat knives, machine guns and explosives.

Total number of human targets: 17000

Having analysed and determined the current situation, I quickly opened my eyes and reached up to turn on the communication device that was at my right ear.

"This is T.S. Do you read me? Over." I said over the line.

"Yes, we read you. Over." The person on the other side of the line replied curtly.

"All ready on this point. What about the others? Over." I asked politely.

"We're all ready on our end as well. T.S., can we start the operation? Over." The voice responded.

"Yes. Begin Operation in 60 seconds starting now. Over." I said.

After having given my instructions, I closed my eyes again and prepared myself for the upcoming operation.

60 seconds…

There were an extremely large number of human targets.

50 seconds…

There were also an extremely large number of machines, including mechanized weapons and drug producing equipment that had to be eliminated.

40 seconds…

The elimination of my targeted 550 sites must be quick, silent and effective.

30 seconds…

There mustn't be any traces left of criminal activities or the slaughter of the criminals in my targeted sites.

20 seconds…

No one, other than my 'allies', can know that a party other than the police and military had attacked those sites.

10 seconds…

There must be no trace left. No clue. No evidence.

6 seconds left…

In that case, the only option left available to me would be…

4 seconds left…

Large scale decomposition magic

2 seconds left…

Using my 'sight', I read and analysed the information structures of all my targets. The only thing left to do was to carry out…

1 second left…

Decomposition.

0 seconds left…

Operation Start.

* * *

Year 2094, September 2nd, Capital City Morelia of the State of Michoacan, former Mexico, USNA, 1:10 a.m.

(Virginia's POV)

Immediately after the start of the operation, Shiba Tatsuya activated his natural decomposition magic to decompose all the information structures of his targets.

Consequently, his targets disappeared.

All of the human criminals, lightly armed and fully armed, all the machines which were located in those sites and all of the criminals' weapons.

They all disappeared,

having faded into nothingness.

As if they never existed in the first place.

Those sites were now…

completely empty.

As if they were never used by criminals before.

As if they were never acting as major sites of criminal activity.

It was almost as if those sites were now completely devoid of their horrible past, with their slate wiped clean.

Even till this day, I still have trouble believing what I saw.

However, regardless of the death and 'devastation that Shiba Tatsuya caused, I could not help but look forward to what the future held for the country.

After all, those sites now had a brighter future.

They were no longer major sites of criminal activities.

They were now empty and available for more productive uses.

They could now be used as locations for new schools, warehouses, factories, offices and hospitals.

All of which would improve the lives of the people of the USNA.

This was why Shiba Tatsuya was so important to Operation Changement.

His natural decomposition magic decomposes the information structures of 'objects' and events, making it seem as though those 'objects' and events never existed in the first place.

His magic could also be applied over a wide range.

Thus, this allowed Shiba Tatsuya, and by extension, his 'comrades' in the Revolution, to wipe out extraordinarily large numbers of enemies, weapons and other targets via the use of one 'soldier'.

For Operation Changement, this was an important advantage for those carrying out the operation.

With this ability, not only did the USNA enjoy drastic reductions in crime rates, this allowed members of the Revolution to keep their losses to a minimum, reduce the use of their supplies and to store up on ammunition and other essential supplies, all of which would eventually be used in the coup de'tat that was to follow soon after the conclusion of Operation Changement.

However, in order to keep the public unaware of the fact that Shiba Tatsuya,a foreigner, was the one who was responsible for the drastic reduction in crime rates, cover-up raids must be carried out by police members that were affiliated with the Revolution along with the aid of the Stars.

This was also to allow political allies of the Revolution whom were affiliated with the crackdown, either as supporters or leaders of the crackdown, to be given the credit for the drastic reduction in crime rates.

Hence, these political allies would then rise in influence and power, which would be instrumental in carrying out the coup and in establishing, and maintaining the post-revolutionary government.

Now that Shiba Tatsuya had carried out his part of the operation, Phase 1 of the operation was complete.

All that was left was to do was to…

"This is the OC (Officer-in-charge) of the operation! Begin Phase 2!"

* * *

Year 2094, September 2nd, Near the back entrance of an unidentified warehouse located at an unidentified deserted street in the Capital City Morelia of the State of Michoacan, former Mexico, USNA, 1:15 a.m.

(Lina's POV)

Immediately after the order came through for Phase 2 to begin, I got out of cover and fired two bullets at the illegal arms traffickers.

The first bullet pierced through the head of one of the traffickers that were guarding the back entrance.

The second bullet pierced through the neck of another one of the guards, destroying his windpipe and oesophagus in the process.

As the second guard collapsed onto the ground, convulsing and with blood flowing out of his mouth, the third and last guard cried out.

"Shit!" He cried out even as he raised his assault rifle at me.

However, it was too late.

Just before he got me within the sights of his assault rifle, I had already fired once with my handgun.

The bullet pierced through his head and his blood got splattered on the wall behind him.

As the three guards lay on the floor, dead, I quickly made my way to the back door and opened it slightly.

Peeking through the slight opening, I looked around to see if there were any traffickers near the back door.

Luckily, there weren't any traffickers being situated near the back entrance so I did not have to fight my way through to get into the warehouse.

I quickly entered the warehouse via the back door before silently closing it shut.

Sneaking around the warehouse, I used the boxes of stocks that were piled around the warehouse as cover in order to hide my presence from the traffickers.

I turned my head to the left, trying to spot something that I could use to my advantage, and I witnessed quite a few of the traffickers carefully packing some grenades into a styrofoam filled boxes.

Perfect.

I quickly took out a small remote control and pressed one of the remote control buttons.

Soon after, a few explosions rocked the warehouse.

This warehouse only had two entrances, a large front entrance which was used by the traffickers when they were bringing in their stocks, and a relatively smaller back entrance, which was used by the traffickers in case they wanted to get out of the building quickly such as when they were trying to escape from the police or rival gangs.

Both entrances were guarded with fully armed men, equipped with USNA military-grade assault rifles, explosives and combat knives.

From the military-like postures that the guards had, it could be assumed that at least some of the traffickers had military training. They were probably former members of the USNA military.

In the part of the USNA that made up former Mexico, illegal arms trafficking had been a major 'business' and problem. Many people, young and old, had entered the trade due to the poor economy and lack of job opportunities in this part of the USNA, and because the profits that one could make from this trade were highly lucrative.

These individuals who had entered the trade naturally included former members of the USNA army. These former members, having left the army, found themselves devoid of jobs and thus incomes in this impoverished part of the USNA. Thus, many of them, pushed by dire economic circumstances, decided to join this trade, putting their military skills and training to use as they protected their territories and fought off police, and army officers as well as rival gangs trying to infringe on their territories.

However, the end result was that the illegal arms traffickers became more dangerous criminals as they now had members who were trained by the military and thus had the skills to take on the USNA military forces whenever these forces carried out a raid on their illegal arms trafficking sites.

Yet, for all the training that these traffickers received, they had made one crucial flaw.

The traffickers had only stationed guards at both the front and back entrances.

However, they didn't set up any patrols that could go round the warehouse and monitor the surroundings despite the fact that the warehouse was located on a deserted street and thus there wasn't any police available to stop their fully armed patrols from monitoring, patrolling and guarding the surroundings.

It was a flaw that would cost them dearly.

Earlier on, I had attached quite a few small, disguised bombs near the side walls of the warehouse, which were left unguarded.

As I pressed one of the remote control buttons, the bombs were activated and exploded.

The side walls which were made of poor quality concrete were easily blasted away, creating large holes in the side walls.

The flying pieces of concrete and shrapnel flew towards the traffickers, cutting through the flesh of several of them.

As the traffickers were distracted by the explosions, I quickly ran and fired a few shots at the grenades located in the 'grenade packing area' of the warehouse.

One of the bullets hit a grenade and the grenade exploded as a result.

The resulting explosion and the flying shrapnel that followed engulfed and hit the surrounding unpacked grenades as well as the boxes of packed grenades in the 'grenade packing area'.

This ignited a series of explosions in the 'grenade packing area' which quickly spread to the rest of the warehouse as the flying shrapnel that followed such explosions hit other types of explosives located in different parts of the warehouse, causing those explosives to explode as well.

The explosions quickly engulfed several of the traffickers' bodies in flames. In some cases, the explosions were strong enough to completely destroy several parts of the traffickers' bodies, leaving only a few limbs lying on the blood-stained floor.

The shrapnel from such explosions had also penetrated through the bodies of several of the traffickers, either causing them to die instantly or to die slowly and painfully as their bodies suffered severe blood loss which only got worse as the blood continued to seep out of their bodies.

Having witnessed the explosion of the first grenade, I quickly threw myself to the side and hid beneath a stack of boxes that supposedly contained bulletproof vests and armour.

At the same time, I activated a magic 'shield, which greatly decelerated the movements of the shrapnel that were flying towards me such that when the shrapnel touched the 'shield', their speed was drastically reduced and the shrapnel fell onto the ground, leaving me unharmed.

Of course, the fact that I had, as planned, hid behind a stack of boxes that contained bulletproof vests and armours helped as well considering that the bulletproof vests and armours stopped most of the shrapnel that were heading towards me.

If not for those pieces of armour, my 'shield' may not have been enough to protect me from the flying shrapnel.

As of now, most of the traffickers were dead, or at the very least, severely injured and unconscious.

There were only about five of them left standing in the warehouse and most of them had been injured to some extent.

During the explosion, the large, metal front door was blown away and had directly collided with the guards at the front entrance, killing most of them in the process as they died of severe trauma to the body.

Two of those front entrance guards struggled to get up and the remaining five traffickers quickly ran towards them, probably with the intention of helping them.

That was a mistake.

As they turned their backs at me and ran towards their allies, I quickly got out of cover and started firing at them.

The first bullet penetrated the back of a trafficker and he collapsed onto the ground with a bleeding back.

The second bullet directly hit the neck of another trafficker and he fell to the ground, with his neck being almost completely destroyed.

The third bullet went right through the head of yet another trafficker and the trafficker fell forward, blood streaming out of his head.

The fourth bullet hit the side of the head of another criminal and the sheer force of the attack caused the criminal's head to sharply turn to the other side.

The fifth bullet hit the back of another thug, with the bullet going right through the back and penetrating into the heart of the thug. The bullet continued in its flight trajectory and fully penetrated through the heart and outer ribs of the thug, eventually hitting a nearby wall.

The sixth bullet, however, hit the chest of one of the guards that were struggling to get up, before bouncing off it harmlessly.

Damn! A bulletproof vest!

I swore mentally as the remaining two thugs quickly pointed their weapons at me and began firing at me.

I quickly ran to the side and thus managed to avoid the incoming bullets.

As I did so, I reached into my pocket and took out my knife Integrated Device.

As I activated the device, I felt the power flowing into me and I embraced it.

The magic that I had activated ran across my entire body and as the bullets 'touched' my body, they were immediately disintegrated.

Molecular Divider.

The classified magic that I had learnt from my predecessor, the former Sirius, after I had defeated him in combat and became the USNA high commander of the Stars.

Every time a bullet 'touched' me, my magic would greatly weaken the molecular bonds holding the structure of the bullet together. As a result, the structure of the bullet would collapse and thus the bullet would disintegrate.

This was unlike Tatsuya-kun's natural decomposition magic which would decompose the information structure of the bullet, making it such that the bullet faded into nothingness rather than having been simply disintegrated.

Regardless, the end result was the same.

Neither of us would be hurt by such attacks.

I then ran towards the two criminals, ignoring every bullet and explosive that they threw my way.

As I did so, every bullet, shrapnel or flames from the explosion that flew towards me were disintegrated thus leaving my unharmed.

Seeing that I was left unharmed despite their numerous attacks, they started to panic and their expressions became fearful.

I then stretched out my right hand and, in a chopping motion, swept it against the assault rifle of one of the criminals.

My hand went right through the weapon and the assault rifle collapsed into pieces which quickly fell onto the ground.

I then jumped forwards and shot my right leg out, sweeping it across the body of the criminal in a wide arc.

My right sliced right through his bulletproof vest and his body. As a result, the upper half of his body fell to the ground shortly before being followed by the collapse of his lower body.

The remaining criminal screamed out in fear as he emptied his magazines at me.

As his assault rifle ran out of bullets, I merely punched through the weapon, rendering it unusable before withdrawing my hand.

The thug quickly began to take out a combat knife but I was faster.

I quickly performed a leg sweep, the attack slicing right through the trafficker's legs and his body, now separated from part of his legs, fell backwards.

As that part of his body hit the ground, I swiftly got up and used my hand to slash through his chest.

The blow cut right through his heart and the man stopped breathing after a few moments.

Heaving a sigh of relief now that the battle was over, I deactivated my magic and looked at my watch.

The time now was 1:30 am.

The battle only lasted for 15 minutes.

That meant that I was still on schedule.

I then put my gun back in my gun holster and quickly prepared to leave.

The clean-up crew would arrive soon and the less time I spent here, the better.

After all, I still had a schedule to keep up with.

However, just as I thought that, I heard something move.

I whipped around and saw that one of the criminals was still alive and could still fight.

That criminal was the one who suffered a bullet that was shot at the side of his head.

His left hand was pressed onto the ground as he used it to support his weight while his right hand was holding onto a handgun.

He tilted his head upwards as he glared at me.

With surprising strength and speed for a severely injured person, he quickly pointed his handgun at me and prepared to fire.

"Die, you monster!" He spat out as he pressed the trigger.

Shit!

I mentally cursed.

I reacted quickly as I pointed by knife Integrated Device at him and activated my other magic: Dancing Blades.

As I did so, I had rapidly twisted my body to the side in a bid to avoid the incoming bullet.

Soon after, multiple blades flew from my body and towards my opponent.

One of the blades pierced his head, another one pierced his neck, yet another one pierced his right hand, and the remaining two pierced his chest.

As a result, my opponent suffered fatal wounds to the head, neck, lungs and heart, all of which were necessary for a person to survive.

The trafficker's body quickly collapsed onto the ground as his left hand, which was supporting his body, gave way and the trafficker's head bounced onto the ground once before laying completely still on it.

Yet, it seemed that I would not have been able to leave unscathed as the bullet would, at its current trajectory and speed, pierce through my side despite the actions that I had taken to avoid it.

As the bullet got closer,

I closed my eyes

as I prepared myself mentally

for the pain to come.

Yet,

I felt no pain.

I felt no agony.

Surprised,

I quickly opened my eyes

Only to see the remnants of the bullet fading into nothingness

as it disappeared completely.

As if it never existed in the first place.

"Tch!"

I groaned to myself softly as I glared at the ceiling of the warehouse, as if I was glaring at the person who had just saved me.

I then looked down and let out a sigh.

"Thank you, Tatsuya-kun." I said before I began to make my way out of the warehouse.

* * *

Year 2094, September 2nd, An unidentified hotel in the Capital City Morelia of the State of Michoacan, former Mexico, USNA, 1:10 a.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

"Stubborn as always…" I let out as I sighed at the carelessness of my partner/subordinate.

As usual, Lina could be surprisingly careless.

Don't get me wrong.

She is a great soldier, strong in combat, physically fit and she possess the endurance and mental strength necessary to prevail in battle.

She was also one of the few 'Strategic-Class' magicians in the world, having acquired that status just this year.

That title alone was testament to her immense power and strength when it came to battles.

Yet, there were times that she let her guard down.

That trait of hers had caused me, her partner/superior, quite a lot of worry.

She could also be incredibly stubborn and prideful.

Sigh…

What a difficult partner to deal with.

Well, I'll admit that the benefits of working together with her exceeded the benefit of working alone as she could act as a reliable backup.

"Operation Changement should be over by today." I stated to myself as I felt my exhaustion seep through my body.

It had been about one and a half years since the start of Operation Changement.

During that time, I had, along with the Stars and my USNA military and police 'allies', attacked numerous criminal sites in many cities of the USNA.

Attacking those criminal sites to reduce crime, then using the incriminating information we received from such raids to charge corrupt officials and politicians, and then taking advantage of this opening to install our political allies to fill up the power vacuum and take up now-empty posts of power in the government.

This was the standard routine that I had been doing for the past one and a half years and my efforts seemed to be paying off.

Operation Changement had taken place in most of the states of the USNA, especially the crime-infested ones.

As a result, many of the states of the USNA had fallen under the control of the members of the Revolution.

We had also managed to purge the police forces of these states of corrupt officers and we had established clean government administrations in these states as well, a feat that we had been able to pull off since our corrupt political foes in those states had been arrested or sent to prison and thus they couldn't contest in the elections.

Without the interference of our corrupt political foes, my 'political allies' had been able to implement many reforms, many of which helped to cut down on corruption, embezzlement and bribe-taking.

The positive results in these states had also attracted the attention of the USNA public, with many citizens from other states turning to our model of clean governance. As a result, even in states when Operation Changement had not been carried out, our corruption-free and generally efficient 'political allies' had been gaining more and more power and influence.

Yet, even after the success of Operation Changement, the current ruling establishment would still hold considerable sway.

As of now, they held the supreme authority over the military and the police, with many police and military officers, especially the corrupt ones, still holding loyalty to the current ruling establishment.

That meant that there would still be considerable resistance should a coup be carried out.

This called for more serious measures.

* * *

Year 2094, September 30th, Washington City, Capital City of the State of Washington, USNA, 8 p.m.

(Virginia's POV)

As I sat down on the plastic chair that was on the stage, I only paid the bare minimum of attention to the speaker as I slowly scanned through the crowd, taking note of the military officers and politicians who were gathered there.

A lot of the people gathered here today were very powerful people, some of which had access to a lot of valuable connections and sources of financing, either from their own assets or the assets of their rich backers.

Many of them were corrupt as well.

Normally, I wouldn't even want to be near this kind of people but there was no choice.

Everything I do now is for the Revolution.

"Colonel Virginia Balance is an outstanding soldier and commander who had led the recent efforts against the powerful drug and illegal arms cartels in southern USNA (former Mexico). Shortly after taking command of the military and police forces in the southern USNA, she led a series of bold crackdowns against the cartels. As a result, crime rates in the southern USNA have been significantly reduced! The level of violence in the southern USNA is at an all-time low! It is with those achievements that the President, the Commander-in-Chief of all USNA forces, have decided to give her the rank of USNA Army Chief of Staff, whom the USNA High Commanders of southern, western, eastern and northern USNA forces would report directly to!" The speaker exclaimed with a loud voice.

"As such, it is my pleasure to introduce to all of you, Colonel Virginia Balance!" He declared to the sounds of applause from the audience.

I then quickly stood up from my seat, and with a military-like posture, I walked towards the front of the stage and faced the crowd with a slight smile.

"Now, I will present to the Colonel, a medal to reward her for her achievements as well as a letter of appointment signifying her promotion." The speaker stated as he turned to the side and held onto a medal and a letter with his hands.

Turning around to face me, he first carefully hung the medal around my neck before handing the letter of appointment to me.

At that, the sounds of applause became even louder than before.

"Now, if Colonel Virginia Balance can give us some words…" The speaker said as he moved to the side and left the mike open.

Stepping forward, I reached out with my right hand and adjusted the mike so as to have it match my height.

"I'm Colonel Virginia Balance, former USNA high commander of all southern USNA forces and the current USNA Chief of Staff." I said.

"I'm overwhelmed with feelings of gratitude and I'm extremely happy that the USNA military establishment and the President have recognized my achievements and that they have decided to reward me with such an honourable position. I shall take on this post with the honour, dignity, responsibility and caution as befitting the high standards of a USNA military officer."

The audience's applause became even louder at this statement.

"My first task as the USNA Chief of Staff would be the re-arrangement and re-alignment of the USNA forces. Currently, such changes only occur every ten years and are crucial to letting army units gain experience and knowledge when it comes to fighting in different environments. However, the average duration of the career of a military officer in the USNA is thirty years. This means that the average army unit would only gain such meaningful experience and knowledge in only three different environments." I stated with a firm tone.

"Hence, I shall be reducing the duration between such changes from ten years to six years. This way, USNA soldiers with gain exposure to five different environments and thus the USNA army will become a better prepared and stronger force. I shall be implementing the changes soon, using the blueprints of the 2094 USNA forces re-alignment plans, whose implementation had been delayed for quite some time already, to guide these changes. As the USNA goes through these changes, I ask that all of you support the USNA military in its endeavours just like all of you have always been doing. Thank you." I finished curtly.

This time, the audience's applause became louder and more extended than it had been all night.

* * *

Year 2094, September 30th, A bar in Washington City, Capital City of the State of Washington, USNA, 9 p.m.

(Governor Charles' POV)

"That was a brilliant speech you made, Colonel Virginia." I said to her from my sitting position on the sofa.

"Oh, I didn't expect to see you here, Governor Charles." She replied with surprise evident in her voice.

"How could I not attend my friend's promotion ceremony as well as the after-party?" I asked rhetorically with a flippant tone of voice.

"I had heard from Clara that you would be very busy in the next few days. I can't believe Clara actually let you go to the ceremony." She stated.

Oh crap…

She's on to me.

Oh well, it's not like she wouldn't figure it out sooner or later.

"Um..about that. Clara does not know that…I'm here in Washington. She still thinks that I'm back in New York…doing work." I muttered with an awkward tone.

A look of disbelief came over my companion's face as she silently stared at me in shock.

"W-Well, Governor Charles. You certainly have a lot of…guts. I will attend your funeral, though." She said out, stammering a bit at first before her voice came out strong for the rest of her statements.

"W-Wait! Don't make it sound like I'm going to die! The way you're putting it, it makes it seem like you are certain that Clara is going to murder me!" I protested.

"She's not?" Colonel Virginia asked with her head tilted to the side while a genuinely confused expression came over her face.

Ugh…

Why is she so certain that I'm going to die?

"A-Anyway, I would just like to tell you that I will support your re-alignment plans." I said with a stammering voice, having finally gotten to the main crux of our conversation.

At this statement, Colonel Virginia's face became serious as she thanked me.

"Thank you very much for your support, Governor Charles. I hope that you shall strive hard, alongside me, as we carry out these changes. After all," She stated politely before silently mouthing out the words:

'everything we do right now is for the sake of the Revolution.'

Indeed, the re-alignment of the USNA military force would be crucial in ensuring the success of the Revolution.

Shortly before the restoration of the Stuarts monarchy in Britain, a general by the name of Monck had taken charge of the English Military. Shortly after he took charge of the military, he had re-arranged and re-distributed the English military forces all around England. He separated republican army units, sending them to work with or to lead other army units that they weren't as familiar with and which were positioned at quite a distance away from their original comrades.

As such, during the republican 'uprising' that was meant to prevent the restoration of the monarchy, many republican military officers and soldiers found themselves separated from their loyal forces and allies. Therefore, they could only muster up smaller forces to resist the restoration.

The re-alignment of the English forces had thus scattered and weakened the republican opposition to the restoration, thereby allowing Monck to easily mop up all the republican resistance to the restoration of the monarchy in England.

Essentially, the current re-alignment plans of the USNA were intended to achieve the same purpose.

The current plans was meant to separate army units loyal to the current ruling establishment from their men, sending them off to work with or lead other army units that they weren't as familiar with and in territory that they didn't possess much knowledge about, under the guise of giving them more exposure to different fighting environments.

This would thus scatter the counter-revolution forces all around the country, leaving them separated and isolated from their allies in unfamiliar territory.

Hence, when the time for the coup came, the counter-revolutionary resistance could be easily wiped out thus allowing for the establishment of the post-revolutionary regime.

I closed my eyes as I pondered over the long path that I have taken alongside my allies as we pursued the path of revolution.

Everything would soon come to an end.

I slowly stood up and made my way to the counter.

After asking the bartender for two cups of red wine, I quickly received the two glasses and I made my way to Colonel Virginia.

After I passed a glass cup to her, I raised my wine glass and spoke.

"To change, Colonel Virginia." I said solemnly as I raised my wine glass.

At this, the Colonel merely smiled slightly at me before she raised her own wine glass.

"To change." She stated with a solemn tone and our wine glasses clinked once against each other.

* * *

Year 2094, October 28, Shiba Residence in New York City, USNA,7:30 p.m.

(Lina's POV)

"Hey, Lina. Why are you so nervous?" Shizuku-san asked.

At that question, I flinched as I quickly turned around to face her.

"I-I'm not nervous, Shizuku-san!" I stammered out.

At my not very convincing reply, Shizuku-san merely replied with an "I see." before pressing on in her attack.

"You are just worried that you would screw up during the upcoming military and police events, aren't you?" She questioned.

Ack!

Her question had hit the nail on the head.

"Look, Lina. I don't really know what your duties in the upcoming events are but don't worry. You'll be fine. After all, you're an excellent soldier and a 'Strategic-Class' magician as well." She stated.

At this encouragement, I felt my chest rise in pride only for my pride to rapidly deflate when she said-

"It's just that you can be very careless at times."

"Ugh…That last part was unnecessary." I muttered out with a pout.

"Really, Tatsuya-kun told me that you nearly got shot a while ago and that he had to decompose the bullet before you were hit." She stated with a curt tone.

'Damn! That stupid Tatsuya! Did he really need to tell her about that?!'

I mentally swore.

"W-Well, um, it's true that he did save me before but that was a one time thing!" I defended.

"Oh? But Tatsuya-kun told me that you were a very careless person at times and after seeing how many plates you dropped in this house, I can't say that I disagree with him." She replied in a curt tone.

"Ah…"

I let out.

She was right, after all.

I had dropped many plates onto the ground in this house, before.

As my partnership with Tatsuya-kun progressed on and got stronger with time, he started to invite me over to his house for lunch or dinner.

As such, I was formally introduced to the two girls that he was taking care of: Kitayama Shizuku, the heir apparent to the Kitayama financial network, and Mitsui Honoka, her 'sister'.

As I came over more often and thus interacted with the two girls more frequently, we became close friends with each other. Of course, the two of them still did not know about Tatsuya-kun's and my duties in the Revolution. They didn't even know about the coming Revolution.

After all, Tatsuya-kun didn't want to get them involved and as per our deal, I could not tell them about it as well.

Not that I would even if I could tell them about it.

Now, they were my close friends and I didn't want to get them involved with such dangerous activities. That and I wasn't allowed to anyway, under the orders of my superiors to keep matters about the Revolution a secret from all those who weren't involved with it.

As such, as the coup was going to take place during the upcoming military and police events, and as I was going to get involved in combat during the coup, I could only vaguely refer to my expected future actions as my 'duties' to these two girls that were uninvolved with the Revolution.

All they knew was that I was one of Tatsuya-kun's allies in the USNA as well as the fact that I was his partner when he carried out his raids.

Well, they didn't tell me all that much about themselves as well.

All they told me was that they were originally from Japan and that they came to the USNA with Tatsuya-kun after the death of Shizuku-san's father.

Of course, I possessed a lot more information about them, other than what they had already told me about themselves. But, they didn't need to know that.

I was also afraid that if they knew, our friendship would inevitably be jeopardized as they would start questioning about why I held so much information about them and that would cause suspicion between us.

Well, their suspicion would be justified, though…

After all, they didn't know the full extent of my duties in the USNA army as well as my links to the Revolution.

Though, one 'interesting' thing that I only found out during my friendship with these two girls was that they were Tatsuya-kun's lovers.

It certainly was quite a shocking fact.

I never took him to be the type to be a playboy.

Well, the two of them would vigorously refute my assessment of Tatsuya-kun, though.

According to them, Tatsuya-kun was not two-timing them but that they had both negotiated with each other and came to an agreement to share him.

This fact shocked me even more than the previous one.

This form of 'polygamy'…was it even legal in the USNA?

Well, technically they weren't married so I suppose it was okay (?).

Yet, I could not help but wonder how they could bear the thought of seeing Tatsuya-kun holding another girl in his arms?

Did they not feel any pain when such thoughts popped up in their heads?

As this question came into my head, I frowned and turned towards Shizuku-san.

"Hey, Shizuku-san, can I ask you a question?" I stated with a slightly confused tone.

"Oh? What is it?" She asked with an impassive tone.

"Um…You said that both you and Honoka-chan are Tatsuya-kun's…" I started out with an unsure tone only to be cut off by Shizuku-san.

"Lovers. Yeah, that's right. Why? What's wrong?" She finished.

"Well…it's not like there is anything wrong (?) with that. It's not like it is a crime but…well, how did the two of you handle it?" I questioned carefully.

"Handle what?" She asked back with a slightly confused tone.

"Well…you know. Don't you two ever feel jealous at each other?" I queried.

"Hmm…" She let out as a thoughtful expression came upon her face.

"Ugh…never mind. Sorry for asking you about such an awkward thing." I stated as I attempted to change the topic to something less…embarrassing.

"No, it's fine. To answer your question…" She stated.

At this statement, I focused my attention on her as she started to give her answer.

"Honoka and I are childhood friends. She is like a sister to me and my parents treated her as such. They really adored her, almost as much as they adored me and my brother. After all, Honoka was one of the rare few who actually became friends with me, not for my family's money or influence. On the contrary, she tried to avoid asking me or my family for anything. She would eat together with me in restaurants but she always insisted on paying for her share, despite my offer to pay for her. She would give me presents but she would try to avoid accepting any from me. She even rejected an offer to be adopted into the Kitayama family. As such, it was impossible for me not to hold great affection for her."

"I see. So that's why you two are so close." I muttered out.

I knew that the two of them were close, as if they were real siblings, but I didn't actually know the backstory behind it.

Still…

Did that mean that they loved each other so much that they managed to overcome their jealousy at each other?

"The fact that both of us liked Tatsuya-kun posed a threat to our relationship. For both Honoka and I, we didn't want to jeopardize our friendship like that. Personally, I had realized early on that if I gave up on my friendship with Honoka, I would never get another friend like her ever again. So…we made a compromise."

"And that was to share Tatsuya-kun." I stated.

"Yes. We talked to Tatsuya-kun about it and he agreed to our decision. Afterwards, we established a schedule when it came to taking up Tatsuya-kun's time. We also make an effort not to be too affectionate with Tatsuya-kun whenever the three of us are together. This way, we can prevent feelings of jealousy from arising between us. Well, that occurs most of the time." She said with a slight smirk.

"Most of the time?" I questioned, a little uneasy with her slight smirk.

"Well, there are times when he is very affectionate to us when the three of us are together." She explained.

"Wait…didn't you just say that you guys were trying to prevent feelings of jealousy from arising and that that's why you guys avoid being too affectionate with each other when all of you were together?" I asked with a bewildered expression.

"Of course he would do it in such a way that would prevent Honoka and me from getting jealous of each other." She replied impassively.

"Huh? And what is this…way?" I enquired.

"Hmm…at times he would place both of us on his lap and then he would proceed to kiss us, one after the other. He would kiss the both of us deeply as well and then he would-" She started explaining.

"Stooooooooppppp! There's no need for you to go into detail! I get it! I get it already!" I shouted out, scandalized, as I put a hand in front of her in a 'stop' motion.

"…"

"Fine." She stated with an emotionless tone.

Doesn't this girl feel any embarrassment for saying all that out loud?!

Doesn't she feel any shame?!

Ha...

Somehow, I felt very tired right now…

Wait, there was one person missing, wasn't there?

"Hey, Shizuku-san, where is Honoka? I thought that she was going to have dinner with us."

I inquired, confused over her unusual absence.

Usually, she would be with Shizuku, at least whenever I came over.

"Hmm…today, Honoka finished her dinner very early. As I had dinner with you, Tatsuya-kun probably ate with her for dinner. Right now, he is probably taking care of her in her room." Shizuku-san said nonchalantly as she laid back on the sofa.

"Taking care of her?"

"Think about it…Right now, the two of them are in her room, all alone…" She stated.

At this suggestive reply, I merely turned away, blushing as I replied.

"Ah…I got it."

* * *

Year 2094, October 28, Shiba Residence in New York City, USNA, 8 p.m.

(Lina's POV)

As I sat in a wooden chair, I faced Tatsuya-kun who was sitting across from me with a serious expression.

"I heard that the USNA military re-alignment will be complete by November 4." He started.

"Yes, it will. Three days after the re-alignment, on the 7th of November, we will begin the Revolution. After all, that is also the day of the national police conferences. During that period, you should know what you have to do." I replied curtly.

"I see. Then, what about you, Lina?" He questioned.

At this question, I merely smirked at him as I replied.

"I told you before, didn't I? I'm your partner. As such, I will be by your side as you carry out your tasks."

"I see." He said as a smile slowly made his way onto his face.

At this, I felt a small smile come onto my face as well.

Silence hung between us for a moment before I broke it with one last statement.

"We're going to get busy, partner."

* * *

Year 2094, November 7th, Shiba safehouse in New York City, USNA, 2 a.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

As I sat down on the sofa, with a cup of coffee by my side, I closed my eyes and used my 'sight' to observe the 'objects' within the USNA.

With my 'sight', I could visualize and confirm the locations, weapons and number of members of the military forces that were likely to oppose the Revolution.

Currently, the military forces that were loyal to the establishment were scattered all over the USNA. They were separated from their allied units and sent to unfamiliar territories that were also quite remote.

As such, even if they suddenly disappeared, no one would even take notice of it, at least for a short while.

Well, that was as long as the USNA Army HQ played along with it, though.

Earlier on, Lina had provided me with information regarding where those counter-revolutionary forces were located, including the number of men that were in each of those units as well as the armament that they possessed.

I had merely used my 'sight' to confirm the information and I found the information provided to be mostly correct with only a few, expected irregularities.

Right now, there were thousands of counter-revolutionary units, all of which possessed tens of thousands of soldiers and weapons.

Yet, now that I knew where they were, how many men they had and what weapons they possessed, they no longer posed a threat to me.

I turned my head to my side with my eyes still closed.

"Lina, I'm starting." I said to my partner.

Lina, who was standing at my side, merely nodded as she replied.

"Got it. I will guard you during this period of time."

"I see. Thank you very much." I replied back with a slightly grateful voice.

Shortly after I replied, I activated my second 'Strategic-Class' magic."

'Destruction' massive à l'échelle

(French for mass-scale 'destruction')

Soon afterwards, the tens of thousands of soldiers belonging to the forces that were loyal to the current ruling establishment immediately disappeared, along with their numerous weapons and items.

They had all disappeared without a trace, having left no items, weapons or even bloodstains behind, despite having been scattered all around the country.

It was as if they had never existed in the first place.

* * *

Year 2094, November 7th, Army HQ in the State of Wisconsin, USNA, 5 a.m.

(Virginia's POV)

In the dead silence that hung over the planning room, a phone rang.

The ringing was coming from my own mobile phone.

I quickly picked up the phone and answered it.

"This is USNA Army Chief of Staff, Virginia Balance. Who is this?" I asked curtly.

"Madam, this is 'Sirius'. T.S. has already completed his mission. Have you already confirmed the completion of his mission?" Lina answered politely before posing a question of her own.

"Yes, I have already confirmed it. Right now, revolutionary army units are moving towards or have already taken control of the sites that the counter-revolutionary forces had held shortly before their demise." I replied with a serious tone.

As I was speaking right now, revolutionary army units were already taking over some of the key locations in the country such as the electricity power plants, water supply control centres, water supply plants, communication control centres and military installations like forts.

That way, the revolutionary forces could isolate counter-revolutionary elements from all forms of communication and supplies, as well as to cut them off from their potential allies.

"I see. How are things going on your end?" Lina asked.

At this question, I merely looked around the room before giving her my reply.

"We're all done with things on my end. Carry on with the operation, 'Sirius'." I replied curtly.

"I understand. Good luck, commander." Lina said before she cut the line.

I then slowly put the phone away from my ear and into my pocket.

Looking at the dead man whose body was sitting on a nearby chair, his head down and bloodstains on his chest, I reloaded my handgun and pointed it at him.

Yes, I have already completed everything on this end.

Now, all was that left was to complete the-

I fired my gun as I said:

"Revolution."

* * *

Well then, Chapter 4 is done! Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Impeachment

Disclaimer: I do not own Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei or any of its vibrant characters.

* * *

Year 2094, November 7th, Main Government Administration Building in New York City, USNA, 11 a.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

Before the re-alignment of USNA forces all around the country, the leaders of the Revolution had classified different army units and personnel under four broad categories.

The first category would comprises officers and army units who were highly likely or confirmed to be loyal to the current ruling establishment, generally this would include all those officers that were involved in corruption.

The second category comprises of officers and army units who were considered to be somewhat less likely to join a counter-revolution.

The third category consists of officers and army units who were most likely to remain neutral in the event of conflict within the army between the counter-revolutionary and revolutionary factions.

Finally, the fourth category consists of officers and army units who were highly likely or have already joined the Revolution.

The re-distribution of USNA forces was meant to scatter and isolate officers belonging to the first and second categories.

After the re-distribution of USNA forces was complete, I had used my second 'Strategic-Class' magic to eliminate (decompose) all the army officers and units that belonged to the first category.

Shortly after the elimination of these counter-revolutionary army elements, the USNA Army Chief (Virginia-san) ordered the assault and takeover of several USNA army headquarters that were located in many different parts of the country.

As the assaults had taken place within the compounds of the headquarters and since all communications from those headquarters had been temporarily cut off, thus preventing the non-revolutionary elements from being able to call for help, the assaults had met with little resistance and the takeover of those headquarters had been swift.

With the takeover of the separate USNA army headquarters, the revolutionary elements used the communication, coordination and management devices within these headquarters to direct revolutionary forces to secure key locations around the country, including the electricity power plants, water supply plants and military installations like forts.

The ordinary citizenry of the USNA also still had no idea of the coup that had just taken place because the revolutionary elements had, soon after their takeover of those army headquarters, ordered and enforced an information blackout thereby preventing all information about the coup from leaking out.

This was something that would change soon.

After all, a revolution without popular support among the public is bound to fail.

* * *

Year 2094, November 7th, Governor's office, Main Government Administration Building in New York City, USNA, 11:10 a.m.

(Governor Charles' POV)

As I sat on my plush black chair, my hands were pressed tightly together, as if in prayer, while my head lay against my hands. I felt a trickle of sweat fall from my head and I gulped in nervousness about the final result.

The final result was regarding the trap that the members of the revolution had set for the corrupt police officers.

Earlier in the morning, the USNA National Police conference was held in my city, New York. High-ranking police officers from all over the country had gathered in the New York City Hotel for the conference. Similarly, conferences involving high-ranking and mid-ranking police officers were held across the country as well, those conferences were smaller in scale than the one held in New York.

Officially, those conferences were meant to act as a platform for officers from different cities and states to share their ideas, experiences and crime fighting techniques with each other. The conferences were also meant to act as a platform for officers to reflect on the declining crime rates in the country as well as to discuss problems that they were likely to face in the future.

However, revolutionary elements within the top tiers of the police force had arranged it such that counter-revolutionary and corrupt officers would be sent to specific conferences while neutral and revolutionary officers would be sent to the rest of the conferences.

As such, when the counter-revolutionary and corrupt officers had all gathered for their respective conferences, the plan was to round them all up at once via the help of revolutionary anti-corruption officers whom were aided by revolutionary police officers as support.

However, the questions that remained were:

How well did our operation go?

And

did we manage to arrest all of the targets?

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by my secretary as she placed a cup of tea on my table.

"Here you go, Governor. A cup of hot milk tea. That should calm your nerves down." Clara said.

"Ah…I see. Thank you, Clara." I said gratefully as I held the cup and took a sip from it.

As I took a sip from the cup, I briefly wondered if my worry was really so evident from my face and body posture but I quickly dismissed such thoughts as irrelevant.

After drinking a bit of the hot tea, I felt my body start to relax a little and I slowly placed the cup down.

"So, any news from our comrades in the police?" I asked Clara as I was turning my head towards her.

"Yes, Governor. We have." She replied curtly.

At this reply, my body automatically stiffened in shock and anticipation towards the upcoming news.

"A-And, what did they have to say?" I asked with a calm voice as I tried to suppress the nervousness that I felt.

Clara smiled at me in response as she said:

"They said that almost all the police officers who were corrupt or who were loyal to the current ruling establishment have been arrested. The few officers who had not yet been arrested had either not attended the conferences for various reasons such as being sick or had managed to escape from the raid. The good news is that our police allies are rounding those officers up and they reported that they should be done by the end of the day."

Soon after she replied, I felt my heart jump at joy at the good news as I clenched my fist in victory.

"What are the arrested officers to be charged with?" I asked her with a curious tone.

Despite the good news that just came to us, Clara's facial expression remained neutral and her body language did not seem to indicate that she was tense or excited. Well, admittedly, she did smile slightly just now. However, on the whole, she appeared to be very apathetic about the entire situation. Such was her nature when she was working. She was, what people would call, a true professional. Hence, it was no surprise when she replied my question with a curt and highly professional tone.

"They are to be charged with corruption, embezzlement, abuse of power and collusion with criminal groups. I have been told that there was no need to worry about a lack of evidence since we had already gained sufficient evidence via the raids carried out during Operation Changement."

"I see. That means that both the army and police force have been mostly purged of corrupt and counter-revolutionary elements. What about the anti-corruption task force? I'm sure that they are currently in an uproar over some of their own members making unauthorised arrests of police officers." I questioned with a slightly inquisitive tone.

"Have you forgotten, Governor? They are currently busy with their own affairs at the moment." She stated with an impassive tone.

* * *

Year 2094, November 7th, Main office of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Toronto, USNA, 11:20 a.m.

(Lina's POV)

The Anti-Corruption Bureau was traditionally a place that embodied the implementation of the principles of the rule of law and the accountability of the authorities over society. As a building that houses the anti-corruption task force, a force meant to follow and implement such noble principles, the building was comparatively grander than a city police headquarters.

However, the current scene in this building could not be called grand.

The term 'chaotic' would be more appropriate, instead.

After all, it was not every day that several police officers barge into the building of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, heavily armed, and led by some of the very members of the anti-corruption task force.

It was also not an everyday occurrence that several other members of the anti-corruption task force, including the head of the task force, were being arrested by the 'intruding' security force members.

As such, it was not really much of a surprise that some resistance would arise from those being arrested.

"You bastards, I'm the head of the anti-corruption task force! How dare you do this to me?!" The former task force chief yelled in an outraged tone as he was being dragged away by two police officers.

"You have already been stripped of your post, former task force chief." I said with a curt tone, while strongly emphasizing the term 'former task force chief' to remind him of his place.

The former task force chief froze when he heard my voice. Then, he quickly regained his bearings before looking up to glare at me.

"You, you! How dare you, you military dog?! Do you really think that you can get away with this?! There will be repercussions, you hear?! I won't just let you get away with this?!" He snarled as his face twisted in fury.

"Unfortunately for you, sir, your allies in the police have already been arrested for an array of charges including corruption and abuse of power. Many of your subordinates in the anti-corruption task force are currently or have already been arrested for similar charges as well. Your warnings of repercussions have no credibility at all." I replied to him with an impassive tone.

The former chief merely clenched his fist in anger as he continued to glare at me in hatred.

Suddenly, a smirk made its way onto his face as a triumphant look entered his eyes.

"Think again, military dog." He said with a scornful tone.

However, as he was making his reply, I had already jumped forward as I activated my CAD.

Psion light rapidly gathered around me as I rose in the air from my jump before I used movement-type magic to move my body in a straight direction.

A second later, I used acceleration magic to speed up my forward movement before using deceleration magic to stop my movement.

As such, it appeared as if my body had made a long leap from the middle of the office to one of the corners of the office.

It was just in time as well since immediately after the former chief made his warning, the two police officers that were escorting him had suddenly slumped over while a bullet whizzed past the location that I was previously at. Shortly afterwards, some armed individuals had burst out from a few of the rooms located next to the main office and started firing at my allies.

I recognized some of the faces of those attackers.

They were some of the officers that we were supposed to arrest. It would appear that they were hiding in wait, both to escape their potential arrest (not that it would have worked since we would have searched the building for them) and to save the former chief if necessary.

Hmm…

It appears that the former chief was not as incompetent as I had thought he would be.

If only he used his abilities for the sake of the country rather than for his own personal enrichment…

Sigh…

Regardless, now I had to fight to survive.

During the brief period when I was landing onto the ground, I quickly whipped out my handgun and fired at two of the attackers.

Those two corrupt anti-corruption task force officers quickly slumped over and collapsed onto the ground. As their bodies were falling onto the ground, I quickly rolled over and the bullets that were meant for me missed their mark, leaving a chip on a nearby table. Immediately after I stood up, I ran to the side and fired several times.

Most of them met their mark and some of the bodies of the attackers started to fall.

However, that was not going to be enough.

Right now, I was heavily outnumbered, outgunned and outmanoeuvred, considering that there were enemies firing at me from both my flanks.

I needed an advantage.

As I continued firing at my enemies, my eyes chanced upon a fire extinguisher that was near several of the attackers.

I quickly fired a few shots at it and the fire extinguisher had burst as a result.

As the white, heavy gas covered most of the room and took the attackers by surprise, I used movement-type magic to quickly make my way to the clouded area of the office, thus camouflaging myself in the process.

The moment I had reached the clouded area, I quickly turned around and fired at the attackers. As the white gas had obscured by form, they couldn't easily make out where I was. Consequently, they missed their shots while a series of gunshots made by me had quickly taken most of them down.

Currently, there were only three attackers left. I would have to deal with them quickly as the cloud of white gas was starting to dissipate.

As I tried to get one of them in my line of sight, the attacker quickly disappeared as he seemed to suddenly appear at another part of the room.

'Cheh! So they had magicians on their side too, huh?' I mentally cursed.

As long as they could move away via movement-type magic before I could properly aim at them, I would not been able to take them down before the gas dissipated. However, once the gas dissipated, I would lose my advantage of not being easily seen by the enemy.

As such, I quickly threw a flash grenade at them before ducking under a nearby table and closing my eyes.

At the sound of the flash grenade going off, I mentally counted to three before emerging from my cover.

The bright light had momentarily blinded the remaining three attackers and I quickly fired at them.

The first bullet penetrated through the head of one of the remaining three attackers and he quickly fell backwards, his head hitting a nearby chair before it fell onto the ground thereby leaving a bloodstain on the chair.

The second bullet hit the solar plexus of another attacker and the attacker collapsed onto the ground in pain.

The last bullet hit the chest of the final attacker, causing the final attacker to clutch his bloody chest in shock before falling to the ground.

Soon after I had finished off the last few attackers, I put my gun down and quickly reloaded it. While I was reloading my gun, I quickly made my way over to one of the corners of the room which had a lot of tables near it. This way, if there were any attackers that were still able to fight, I would be able to get behind adequate cover.

As I hid behind my cover, I scanned the room for threats and I noticed the former chief slowly getting up with blood gushing down from a gunshot wound to his stomach.

"Y-You military dog! I-I won't let you get away with this!" He snarled as he pointed a gun at me.

However, just a moment before he pointed his gun at me, I already had my gun out as I fired at him.

The bullet had hit his right arm and the gun that he was using his right hand to hold fell onto the ground as he screamed in pain.

While he was screaming in pain, I used movement-type magic, acceleration magic and deceleration magic to make my way next to him. As I was accelerating towards him, I took out my knife and prepared to slash at him.

As I was doing so, the man had used his left hand to grab another gun but it was too late as I had already reached him by then.

While I was landing on the ground, I used my left foot to slam down on the back of his left knee joint and he yelled in agony as his left knee fell to the ground. During this process, I activated my magic.

Molecular Divider.

A magic meant to weaken the attractive forces between particles thus causing a structure to collapse at the point where the magic was applied.

Using my knife Integrated Device, which acted as a medium through which my magic was applied, I slashed right through his left hand and the upper part of his left hand fell to the ground, causing him to scream even more. I then grabbed the back of his head and slammed it against a nearby table.

Dazed, the former chief stopped his screaming and fell back onto the ground in silence.

As I slowly lowered my gun, I heard a sudden sound coming from the door of the main office entrance and I quickly turned my gaze towards it.

Upon seeing my allies slowly making their way into the room with wary expressions, I let out a slow breath in relief.

The main battle was already over.

All that was left to do was 'clean-up work'.

* * *

Year 2094, November 7th, Governor's office, Main Government Administration Building in New York City, USNA, 12 p.m.

(Governor Charles' POV)

"Governor, the anti-corruption task force has been purged." Clara stated while holding a communication device to her ear.

At that statement, I let out a breath that I did not know that I was holding in relief.

"Phew…Well, that will save us a lot of trouble." I said with a relieved tone.

"We are not out of this yet, Governor. The Congress and Senate meeting will take place in this afternoon, remember. If the vote doesn't go through…" She warned with a cautious tone.

"Don't worry, Clara. During Operation Changement, a lot of senators and congressman have been arrested for an array of charges. As a result, we currently hold a majority in both houses of the national parliament. Of course, the same goes for the majority of the states' parliament houses as well." I assured her with a calm tone.

"I see. Then, what about the neutral police and army units? We may have purged the top and mid ranks of both forces of corrupt and counter-revolutionary elements but will we really be able to assert control over the neutral units? Furthermore, will we really be able to assert control over the rest of the anti-corruption task force?" She questioned with a slightly worried tone.

"Oh? It's not like you to be so worried, Clara." I mused to her in a joking fashion.

"Governor, I'm being serious here." She said with a warning tone.

"Sigh…can't even take a joke. Anyway, Clara, Colonel Virginia is the USNA Army Chief and she has taken control over all the headquarter buildings around the country. So, the fact that she is on our side already gives priceless legitimacy to the coup. Furthermore, for the units who are now without a commander, we have already arranged for non-corrupt members of those units to take charge. During the national parliament meetings, we will also be showcasing the incriminating evidence that we have obtained regarding the corrupt security officers to the public, the two houses of parliament, and the rest of the police, army and anti-corruption forces. That should be enough to win over the support of the neutral units. We will also be able to gather significant support from the public which will be essential for the next step of the revolution." I explained with a calm tone of voice.

"I see." She said before continuing.

"But are you sure that the evidence we have obtained will be enough to convince the national parliament houses to pass the bill?" She queried with an uncertain tone.

"Oh…it'll be enough. The type of evidence we have obtained will be more than enough for us to succeed in the next step of the revolution." I stated with a confident tone.

* * *

Year 2094, November 7th, National Senate Building, Washington City, Capital of the State of Washington as well as the Capital City of the USNA, USNA, 3 p.m.

(Virginia's POV)

"Senators, I believe that there is more than sufficient evidence for this bill to pass." I stated with a curt tone.

The Senators shifted uncomfortably at my statement.

Then, an elderly Senator raised his hand up to calm the rest of the Senators down before he began to speak.

"Certainly, Colonel Virginia, the evidence you have presented is very…convincing. However, this is a very serious matter. We will need to have more debate on this issue." He stated calmly as he objected to my confident declaration.

"With all due respect, Senator, the evidence I have submitted contains financial statements, email and phone messages, and even voice recordings showing that President David Ruling had been involved in vote-buying during his re-election campaign. Furthermore, the separate pieces of evidence that I have presented has already been verified by top, professional agencies like voice verification agencies. As such, I believe that there is currently more than enough evidence to impeach the president." I rebutted with a calm, respectful tone of voice.

In truth, when we launched Operation Changement, we didn't think that we would be able to gain enough evidence to 'nab' such a powerful political figure. It actually happened coincidentally. Tatsuya-kun made it a habit to personally raid and 'loot' money-laundering sites. However, while he was looking through and organizing the information he had gained from such raids, he came across the financial statements that suggested vote-buying by the president during the re-election campaign. After he reported this fact to us, we hacked into President David's mobile phone and email account to get sufficient evidence to 'nab' him before attributing the leaks to a rather cooperative and revolutionary White House Staff member. Still, as expected, there was a lot of resistance to passing this bill. After all, impeaching the president was usually only used as a last resort.

"Colonel Virginia, please understand. This is a very serious matter and requires a lot of debate." The elderly Senator reasoned.

However, a younger revolutionary Senator objected to his reasoning.

"I will have to disagree. Right now, there is more than enough evidence to impeach and prosecute the president. Furthermore, the evidence that has been presented is highly credible, given that it has already been verified by top, professional agencies. In addition, shortly after I received this evidence, I told my aides to contact those agencies for confirmation of the fact that they verified the accuracy of the evidence presented. They have since replied and confirmed it. As such, faced with such highly convincing evidence, I believe that we should immediately push the bill to a vote!" The younger Senator declared with a loud voice.

"…"

"…"

"…"  
At that declaration, silence engulfed the room for a few moments before other Senators started to voice out their support for pushing the bill to a vote.

"Very well. I will not carry out a filibuster and will support pushing this bill to a vote." The elderly Senator finally said with a resigned tone.

"Very well. This vote will be very simple. Those who vote 'yes' will simply have to raise their hands. To those who vote 'yes', please raise your hands now." The younger Senator said.

In response, an overwhelming majority of the Senators present raised their hands into the air.

"Alright, we will now start counting the number of 'yes' votes for propriety's sake." The younger Senator stated with a solemn tone.

However, I was no longer listening at this point.

Now that there was an overwhelming majority of the Senators voting 'yes' to the impeachment bill, the bill was definitely going to get passed. The National Congress would like pass the bill as well. All that was left was to force the president off his post.

* * *

Year 2094, November 7th, Governor's office, Main Government Administration Building in New York City, USNA, 6 p.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

As I sat down on the chair, drinking a cup of hot coffee, I looked at the Governor who was sitting across the table.

The governor's face currently had an impassive expression and his eyes were serious. Yet, as if belying the confidence and optimism that he held, his body posture was slightly relaxed.

"So, Governor…I take it that the plan went off without a hitch." I started cautiously.

"Indeed, Tatsuya-kun. Both the National Congress and the National Senate have passed the impeachment bill requiring the president to vacate his post immediately and to submit himself for investigation. With the public leaks about the corruption of President David and the anti-corruption, police and army officers, we have managed to gain the support of the neutral security units as well as of the public for the coup. Right now, we have a lot people protesting on the streets of the USNA cities in support of the coup and in opposition to the current ruling establishment. The vote-buying scandal turned out to be the final trigger for unleashing public rage." He stated with a happy tone as he relaxed into his seat.

"I see. But, what about the remaining counter-revolutionary elements in the security forces? Such as the officers and army units who were considered to be somewhat less likely to, but could potentially still, join a counter-revolution. We didn't exactly eliminate them, you know. There are likely to be such elements remaining in the police and anti-corruption task forces as well." I warned.

"Don't worry about that, Tatsuya-kun. We have already won most of them over to our side due to the recent public corruption leaks. I mean, sure, they always knew that there was corruption plaguing the ruling establishment but they didn't know just how large the scale of corruption was until the recent leaks. Needless to say, they were very disillusioned and we managed to easily win them over to our side." He explained.

"I see. Then what about the remaining units that we have not yet won over to our side?" I queried.

"Now that we have gained control of key locations around the country such the electricity power plants, as well as control over the rest of the security forces, we managed to cut off all electricity and water supplies, as well as communications, to where those counter-revolutionary elements are located. We have also surrounded them with our forces and are slowly taking them out. We should be able to wipe them out within the next few days." He replied with a calm voice.

"I see. Then, the last question that remains is whether or not we can take control of the State of Washington?

"Yes, that would be the difficult part." He conceded.

All the states of the USNA had their own state governments, which had some autonomy from the federal government. Typically, the governor of each state held considerable power and influence, and they were considered to be the most powerful people in their respective states. However, in the State of Washington, which contained the national capital, the President held the most power, greatly surpassing that of the state governor. As such, to gain control of this state, which was also the most important state as it contained the national capital, would certainly be very difficult.

"What progress has been made?" I enquired.

"While we managed to gain complete control over the security forces in the other states, we have only managed to gain limited control over the security forces in the State of Washington. We also have limited control over the city government administrations in the state as well. The good news is that with the protesters out in force over the recent corruption leaks, and with the impeachment bill passed, some of the city security forces and government administrations in the state have already joined our side. But that is only about 40% of all the cities in the State of Washington. We are still trying to gain control over the rest of the cities, especially Washington. But Washington City is going to be hard to take over since it is the centre of the President's power base." He stated with a frustrated tone.

"How many forces can you mobilize to take over the state?" I queried.

"Not much. Our forces are still occupied with the task of maintaining control over key locations of the country as well as with wiping out the few remaining counter-revolutionary security units in the other states. Not to mention the fact that we had to increase the number of soldiers on guard at the border in order to deter other countries from attacking." He admitted candidly.

"I see. We need to pull off the coup within the next few days or else the other countries will take advantage of the current situation and invade the USNA." I stated with a serious tone.

"Yes, you're right. But the takeover of the State of Washington is going to be difficult." He said.

"I understand. But I have an idea." I stated.

Apparently, my statement aroused the curiosity of the Governor as he raised his eyebrows in intrigue.

"Oh? Do tell." He said with an inquisitive tone.

"Have Colonel Virginia mobilizes as many forces as she can without compromising on our other priorities and then station them in secret locations around the cities that are more likely to resist the Revolution. When they are in position, I will go with Lina and launch a direct assault on Washington City. If we can defeat the ruling establishment's forces in a decisive battle in Washington City, we should be able to severely dampen the morale of the counter-revolutionary forces in the other cities of Washington State. Once that happens, we will immediately launch an assault on those resistant cities." I explained with an impassive tone.

"…"

"Governor?"

"I see where you are going with this, Tatsuya-kun. But taking over Washington City is going to be difficult. We have virtually no revolutionary forces in that city. In addition, the city itself has its own electricity power plants and water supply plants so they are not as dependent on the plants outside the city which we had taken over and cut off supplies from. Furthermore, the national capital, itself, is heavily militarized. They have two major military bases: The Washington Land Control Base and the Washington Air Base along with smaller military bases installed around the city. From what my spies within the city have told me, the President's forces have already secured the power and water plants. They have also prepared the city defences and are ready to carry out street fighting. They have also based their new military headquarters at the White House, which by itself is already heavily armed. Taking over the city itself will take weeks and by then, other countries would already have invaded the country." He stated with a frustrated tone.

"I understand. However, I would like you to trust me on this, Governor. It is possible for us to win in one day." I replied.

"One day?!" He said with a startled voice.

I then leaned in closer to him as I said:

"Please listen carefully to me, Governor. This is my plan…"

* * *

Year 2094, November 7th, Near Washington City, USNA, 11 p.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

As I sat down on the ground with my back against a tree, I turned my head to the side to view the city that we would be assaulting.

It was quite a beautiful city, with the many historical buildings clustered together with more modern buildings in a manner that exemplified both the historical and modern value this city held to the country.

It was too bad that many of those buildings were about to be destroyed.

Currently, there were two major military bases located in the city along with four smaller military bases. One of the major military bases, the Washington Air Base, was the only military base in the city that held the capacity to contain and deploy fighter jets and bombers.

In the current situation, about 80% of the city's air force was located in the Washington Air Base while the remaining 20% was patrolling the city. The counter-revolutionary forces most likely didn't deploy the remaining air forces because that would use up their limited fuel supplies. They were probably planning to deploy them only in the event of an enemy attack.

Regarding the land forces, about 70% of them were deployed onto the streets and they had already dug in for heavy street fighting. However, the remaining 30% stayed on the base, probably so that the counter-revolutionary forces on the streets could receive reinforcements from them in the event that they were in trouble as well as to set up a place where they could retreat to and where they could form a new line of defence.

Furthermore, those bases served as useful stores where they kept and guarded most of their supplies as well as coordination centres for their forces.

Taking out these bases would be essential for the success of the upcoming operation since the destruction of these bases would destroy most of the supplies that the counter-revolutionary forces had. Furthermore, it would eliminate places where the counter-revolutionary forces could retreat to, adversely affect the coordination of their forces on the ground and wipe out a substantial portion of their forces.

Then, to put even more pressure on the enemy, I would have to destroy the three communication centres in the city so as to eliminate the chances of them regaining coordination among their ground forces.

However, all these tasks would have to be done without other people finding out about my decomposition magic.

Therefore…

"T.S., our forces are in position. We are already to begin." A voice said over the communications device.

"I understand, Sirius. The operation will start in thirty seconds time starting now." I replied curtly before raising my hand into the air.

I then used my 'sight' to read and analyse the information structures of all the pathways in which light could travel through before using my magic to decompose the information structures of some of the specific pathways of light.

As a result, those pathways temporarily 'disappeared' from existence and the light energy could only travel through selected pathways that weren't decomposed.

Consequently, six large beams of light came down from the sky and hit the six military bases.

The six military bases were then engulfed in a fiery explosion as flames roared out from those bases and moved swiftly towards the bases' surroundings.

As I waited for fifteen more minutes after my initial attack, I noticed that panic had already spread through the ranks of the counter-revolutionary forces as their commanders desperately tried to make sense of the current situation facing them.

Well, having all of your military bases and a substantial part of your forces destroyed in less than a minute is more than enough to cause even the most seasoned commanders to panic.

However, now that there was sufficient panic and chaos within the ranks of the counter-revolutionary forces, I struck them with one more blow to further lower their morale.

I raised my hand again and activated my magic.

This time, three large beams of light came down from the sky and hit the three communication centres within the city, engulfing them in large, fiery explosions in the process.

Having been satisfied with my work, I turned away from the city and spoke to the other person on the line.

"Sirius, this is T.S.. Begin the assault now." I ordered.

Almost immediately after I gave the order, the city was bombarded with artillery fire while fighter planes and bombers started flying towards the city.

* * *

Chapter 5 is finally done! Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Victory of the Revolutionaries

Disclaimer: I do not own Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei or any of its vibrant characters.

* * *

Year 2094, November 8th, Washington City, Capital City of the State of Washington and of the USNA, USNA, 1:30 a.m.

(Lina's POV)

Shortly after Tatsuya-kun used his magic, 'Light of Destruction', the six military bases and three major communication centres in Washington City were completely destroyed.

Having had most of their supplies and ammunition destroyed while being faced with a situation of being unable to receive orders from their superiors or to communicate with their allies, the ranks of the counter-revolutionary army had descended into a state of panic. This resulted in poor coordination among their forces and a severe fall in their soldiers' morale.

Taking advantage of the opportunity that this situation afforded us, the army that the members of the revolution managed to gather attacked Washington City from all directions. The fighter planes belonging to the revolutionary army tore apart the remaining 20% of the counter-revolutionary air forces thus leaving little to no resistance in the air against the bombers of the revolutionary army.

These bombers then proceeded to heavily bombard the enemy positions in the city, causing massive damage to the remaining 70% of the enemy's land force in the process. Eventually, the bombers managed to severely damage or destroy the mid-range and long-range enemy artillery positions in the inner part of the city. As a result, this greatly reduced the amount of artillery fire that was rained down upon the armoured tanks, vehicles and soldiers of the revolution that were entering the city from all directions.

Faced with heavy bombardment from the air, severely diminishing artillery support, falling morale among their allies and heavily armoured tanks and troops attacking them from all directions, what remained of the counter-revolutionary army's land force was rapidly being destroyed.

"Commander 'Sirius', we have taken control of the key locations in this city, including the water and electricity supply plants. Shall we start cutting off all electricity and water to the enemy?" My subordinate said as his voice came through the communication device attached to my ear.

"Do it." I replied with a cold tone.

"Yes, madam." He replied back with a curt tone.

Soon after, all the remaining enemy positions within the city were cut off from electricity and clean water.

This should help add onto the pressure that they were already facing.

As I laid on the concrete floor on the top of this tall building, I focused the sights of my special weapon, 'Brionac', at the heavy security perimeter that was set up around the White House.

The security perimeter was massive and covered a wide area around the White House, containing several trenches that have already been dug up as well. Those trenches contained many soldiers, all of which were heavily armed with assault rifles, handguns, machine guns, grenade launchers and the like. There were also tanks and other armoured vehicles located within the security perimeter.

With the recent civil war, the White House had apparently become even more heavily guarded than before, with its degree of security even exceeding that of a military headquarters building. In addition, it had its own back-up power and clean water sources. Therefore, we were unable to prevent the White House from having any clean water and electricity supply despite having gained control over the electricity and water plants in the city. However, it wasn't that surprising since the White House was currently acting as the de facto military headquarters for the counter-revolutionary army in Washington City as well as the residence for the president.

In truth, assaulting the White House with conventional army units and tactics would have been a very hard task, some might even call it suicidal. Luckily, I was not using conventional army units nor conventional army tactics.

Having focused the sights of my special weapon on the south side of the security perimeter, I quickly set the allowed magic output at a high level before activating my 'Strategic-Class' magic, 'Heavy Metal Burst'.

As my magic caused the heavy metals to disperse, a large amount of plasma was rapidly formed. A moment later, a large beam of plasma shot out from the barrel of my weapon and towards the south side of the massive security perimeter.

As the large plasma beam hit the south side of the security perimeter, a large portion of the south side was instantly wiped out as flames started to spread out in all directions from the south side of the security perimeter.

Soon afterwards, I fired three more large beam of plasma, one at the west side, one at the north side and the last one at the east side. Consequently, the massive security perimeter that was set up around the White House was almost entirely wiped out. The White House residence, itself, escaped destruction as it stood in the centre of what used to be a massive security perimeter, surrounded by flames.

Now, it was time to take the White House.

I quickly relayed my orders through the communicator that was attached to my ear.

"This is Commander 'Sirius'." I said.

The reply came soon after.

"Commander 'Sirius', this is temporary HQ of the Washington force. What are your orders?"

"Have the Stars units 1 to 3 of the Washington force move in and attack the White House from the east side. At the same time, have the Stars units 4 to 6 move in and attack the White House from the west side. During this period, have the Washington army units 110 to 115 move in and attack the White House from the front while leave Washington army unit 116 at the back of the White House to capture or kill any who tries to escape." I ordered with a stern voice.

"Understood. We are sending out your orders immediately."

"Have six combat helicopters support the ground forces that are going to attack the White House, with two helicopters being responsible for attacking one of the three sides: the front, east and west side." I added.

"Yes, Commander. Do you have any other orders?"

"No, that will be all from now. I am going to storm the White House now. The deputy commander will take charge of the operation from this point onwards until the time comes whereby I personally assume command again." I stated.

"Understood."

Immediately after I received that reply, the line was cut off from the other side and I readied my handgun.

Soon afterwards, the attack on the White House began.

* * *

Year 2094, November 8th, Revolutionary Army Headquarters in the State of Washington, USNA, 2 a.m.

(Virginia's POV)

As the remnants of the counter-revolutionary army left their respective strongholds and bases located within the cities of the State of Washington, they quickly assembled outside their respective cities before leaving for their rendezvous point.

As Tatsuya-kun had suspected, these remnants were going to abandon their respective cities in a bid to regain control of the national capital, Washington City.

Regaining complete control over the national capital, and against such huge odds, would be a major political and public victory for the counter-revolutionaries. One which would damage the morale of the revolutionary army while greatly bolstering their political position within the country.

They must not be allowed to succeed.

As I sat in my chair, monitoring all of the enemy's movement, I quickly sent out orders to my subordinates, whom proceeded to relay them to the rest of the army.

"Get T.S. on the line." I ordered.

"Yes, madam."

As T.S.'s voice came over the line, I called out to him.

"T.S., this is the Army Chief. The remnants are moving." I stated with an impassive tone.

"I see. Did they leave some soldiers at their rear for protection." He questioned.

"Yes. They left some forces within the cities that we still didn't gain full control of. As such, we cannot attack them from the rear." I replied curtly.

"I understand. Are they going to rendezvous at any specific locations?" He enquired.

"We do not know the exact locations where they are going to rendezvous with their allies. However, based on their projected path, we can make a few guesses." I answered.

"Very well. Army Chief, are the ambush forces in position?" He inquired.

"Well, they are. However, T.S., they are in position to attack the cities, not the remnants who have already left the cities." I reminded him.

"I understand, Army Chief. However, as they go forth to rendezvous with their allies, the ambush forces can attack and take control over the cities. With the enemy positions within the cities being in such a weakened state, we should take advantage of this opportunity." He stated.

"They could retreat and return to safeguard the cities." I countered in a matter-of-fact tone.

"As long as we attacked the cities before the remnants managed to rendezvous with each other and when they are too far from the cities to do anything in the short run, we should be able to take control of the cities before they return." He persuaded.

Hmm…

If he put it that way, it could work…

The ambush forces could make use of the opportunity and clear out any remaining counter-revolutionary elements in the cities.

This way, we would be able to deny the remnants of the counter-revolutionary force a base where they could gather support and stage attacks from. They would also no longer have a place to retreat to.

Consequently, the enemy's morale would fall significantly and we could force them into a surrender.

"I understand. But T.S., if the remnants managed to rendezvous with each other, they could form quite a formidable force that could, potentially, regain control over Washington City or any other cities of the State of Washington. Moving our ambush forces to better locations to stage attacks on these remnants may be a more suitable choice at this juncture. We could destroy them before they managed to rendezvous with each other." I countered.

"…"

"Army Chief, scattering an enemy army into separate locations can help weaken resistance in any given area and it was this tactic that allowed us to gain control over the rest of the country. However, if the scattered units of an enemy army were able to strengthen their control over their respective areas, it would be difficult to clear them out and they could use that chance to gain popular support within their respective areas. Unlike the rest of the country, the remaining cities in the State of Washington that are still under some semblance of enemy control had been deeply entrenched with counter-revolutionary forces and now that these positions are severely weakened, we should take this opportunity to wipe out these enemy positions." He said with a calm tone.

"Like I said before, those remnants could still gather to form a formidable force. In the end, moving our ambush forces into more suitable locations to attack these remnants may prove to be the better choice." I stated.

"However, repositioning our ambush forces in secret would take up quite a bit of time. By the time they are ready, the remnants may have already managed to rendezvous with each other." He shot back.

"…"

"Army Chief, scattered units of an enemy army may gather in one location to form a formidable force. However, while such actions would greatly increase enemy resistance, it also means that most if not all of the enemy units would be gathered at one specific location. Therefore, if the enemy force is destroyed in that one location, that would effectively wipe out almost all resistance within the country." He stated.

"…"

"I see. So you're saying that you will wait for the remnants to gather together before destroying all of them in one battle." I inferred after having taken a moment to consider his words and their underlying meanings.

"Yes, Army Chief. Please leave it to me." He replied with a polite tone.

"…"

"Army Chief, your orders, please." He requested.

"…"

"Army Chief?"

Sigh…

He was really going to do it, huh…

Well, it will benefit the revolutionary forces in the end so there is no point in opposing it…

"Very well. Go forth and destroy them, 'Angel of Light'" I ordered.

* * *

Year 2094, November 8th, State of Washington, USNA, 4 a.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

Devil's hour was finally over.

It was finally time for the 'Angel of Light' to make his appearance.

At 3:20 a.m., the remnants of the counter-revolutionary force had gathered together to form an army. Within twenty minutes, the newly-formed army had already re-arranged itself and it sent out a vanguard of considerable size, comprising of armoured tanks, vehicles and soldiers, accompanied by assault helicopters. It had also set up a small force to protect its rear.

Using my 'sight' to read and analyse the information structures of the 'objects' around me, I could discern the exact number, size and weapons of the enemy.

The vanguard itself consisted of 100 tanks, 300 armoured vehicles, 10 helicopters and a large number of heavily armed and armoured soldiers.

The rear guard did not consist of any tanks but it had about 100 armoured vehicles and a smaller number of heavily armed and armoured soldiers.

The main army itself contained 300 tanks, 700 armoured vehicles, 60 helicopters and a much larger number of heavily armed and armoured soldiers.

The enemy's air force

After using my 'sight' to read and analyse the information structures of all the pathways in which light could travel through, I extended my right hand to the sight before using my magic to completely decompose the information structures of some of the specific pathways of light.

As a result, those pathways temporarily 'disappeared' from existence and the light energy could only travel through selected pathways that weren't decomposed.

At the same time, I only partially decomposed the information structures of some of the specific pathways of light, thus 'damaging' these specific pathways and hence only partially diverting the light that were supposed to travel through these pathways to the pathways that were left completely intact.

Consequently, this allowed me to attain the form of the 'Angel of Light'.

Bright white 'wings of light' formed at my back and extended outwards while a 'blade of light' formed and extended from the top of my right wrist.

* * *

Light travelled in all directions.

Let's say one of the pathways that light could travel through contained two points, point A and point B, and that light travels in a straight line from point A to point B. When the light finally reached point B, it will branch off towards separate directions and travel through separate pathways to reach separate points such as points C, D and E. Then, let's say that light would travel from point B to point C in a straight line.

Hence, as the light that were supposed to go through the completely decomposed pathways instead travelled in straight lines through the pathways that were left completely intact (thus travelling from point A to point B), this formed beams of light in the process.

The light was then partially diverted from the partially 'damaged' pathway (consisting of points B and C), to the intact pathways (consisting of points B and D, and points B and E), thus dispersing the beam to form ordinary rays of light.

Consequently, this resulted in the formation of a pair of white 'wings of light' as well as the formation of a white 'blade of light'.

* * *

Year 2094, November 8th, State of Washington, USNA, 4:10 a.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

As I 'flew' into the sky, the vanguard forces started firing upon me.

However, it was ultimately futile as every time a bullet or projectile 'hit' me, it would immediately fade into nothingness.

I then raised my hands into the air and 'summoned' two beams of light.

The first beam of light was massive and it hit the centre of the vanguard forces.

A moment later, a large explosion engulfed the entire vanguard force in flames, leaving not a single trace of the enemy behind.

While the second beam of light was much smaller than the first beam of light, it was more than sufficient to wipe out the entire rear guard as it hit the centre of the rear guard formation, engulfing the whole rear guard in a large explosion in the process.

I then 'flew' towards the main army.

As I flew over the main army's formation, I noticed that the enemy commander had arranged for the tank regiments to be put at the front while the armoured vehicles were placed at the back.

That was a tactical mistake.

USNA tanks were among some of the best in the world. Heavily armoured yet capable of moving at high speeds, USNA tanks possessed a lot of firepower and could easily respond to enemy fire from the front and from the sides.

There were actually not meant for deployment alongside other types of armoured vehicles.

The armoured vehicles were fast vehicles which were meant to allow rapid movement and deployment of armoured foot soldiers, unlike tanks.

There weren't made for facing heavy artillery fire and it was their smaller size and great maneuverability which gave them a distinct advantage over tanks as they could transport and deploy soldiers more quickly and more inconspicuously than tanks.

Therefore, placing them at the back where their great maneuverability and small size weren't used in the best possible way spoke volumes of the low capability of the enemy commander.

As the sounds of the rotating motor blades of the helicopters reached my ears, I looked up and was faced with yet another example of the enemy commander's low capability.

All sixty combat helicopters of the main army spread out to form a semi-circular arc in front of me so that they could spread out their fire while blocking off any routes I could use to advance forward.

However, by doing so, they had left the land forces exposed to surprise aerial bombardment. If all the helicopters facing me were occupied or destroyed, the land forces would be especially vulnerable to air-based enemies.

As the helicopter fired upon me with bullets and missiles, the land forces from below used their anti-air weaponry on me.

Yet, it was ultimately useless.

After all, all the projectiles that were fired upon me disappeared the moment they 'touched' my body.

I raised my right hand towards the combat helicopters and activated my magic.

A second later, many small beams of light appeared from all directions and pierced all sixty helicopters at many different points.

As the helicopters started falling to the ground, the machine bodies of these helicopters burst into flames before exploding loudly.

Faced with the loss of their entire air force, the main army's land force unexpectedly increased their fervour in peppering me with gunfire.

It would appear that they had a surprisingly high level of morale.

Or perhaps it was the fact that if they lost here, they were either going to die by my hand or that of the revolutionary army.

Well, if they were lucky, they would probably be imprisoned for many years or for life and even these 'lucky' scenarios could be considered to be quite bad.

Ultimately, they had no choice but to fight and win.

After all, they would die, or at best be imprisoned, if they lost here and the same consequences would apply to them if they surrendered or ran away from here.

Indeed, they were truly trapped in a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' situation.

Regardless, I couldn't pity them.

After all, if you pity your enemy, you may make a mistake which could potentially cost you your life.

Ignoring the many projectiles being fired at me, I 'flew' even higher into the sky and was now above the centre of their formation.

I then spread out my white 'wings' of light and the 'wings' rapidly enlarged to cover areas of several tens of square kilometres.

With the front of my body facing the main army, I 'flew' even higher into the sky as a large number of small light beams shot out from my large 'wings'. The many 'spears of light' easily pierced through the armoured tanks, vehicles and soldiers, wiping out the large section of the main army that was located at the centre of the main army's formation.

As I 'flew' around and above the main army's formation, I kept firing my many 'spears of light' at my enemies, wiping out whole regiments in the process.

I then 'flew' straight towards the enemy's formation.

As I landed on the ground, I extended my large 'wings' out and spun around, causing my large 'wings' of light to pass through many armoured tanks, vehicles and soldiers in the process. As my 'wings' passed through them, the high density of light energy possessed by those 'wings' rapidly destroyed my enemies.

I then 'flew' around and within the enemy's formation. As I 'flew' around, I slashed at the enemy soldiers with my 'blade' of light. The 'blade' which contained a high density of light energy easily sliced right through the armour, weapons and bodies of my enemies. At the same time, my large 'wings' passed through whole sections of the army, disintegrating them in the process.

Finally, to finish off the main army, I raised my hand towards the sky and 'summoned' six large beams of light.

The six large beams of light hit different parts of what remained of the enemy's formation, engulfing six different parts of the remnants of the enemy's formation in six separate but large explosions.

Soon afterwards, the six large explosions 'merged' together, ultimately resulting in the formation of a massive explosion which wiped out what remained of the main enemy army.

As I stood there alone on the battlefield, I let my gaze wander around the battlefield, taking note of the many damaged, red-hot parts of machinery that lay strewn across the battlefield.

Remarkably, there were no dead bodies lying around the battlefield, the enemy soldiers' bodies having been completely destroyed by the large beams of light that I had fired.

The battle was finally over.

Now, it was time for me to make my way over to Washington City.

Lina may need my assistance, after all.

* * *

Year 2094, November 8th, Revolutionary Army Headquarters in the State of Washington, USNA, 5 a.m.

(Virginia's POV)

As I watched the last moments of the battle that Tatsuya-kun participated in via the computer screen, I tightened my fists as I tried to suppress the fear that I felt.

Tatsuya-kun truly was a frightening person.

His 'Angel of Light' form was extremely powerful.

Using his light-based attacks, he easily wiped out an entire army in less than fifty minutes.

Certainly, the enemy commander was rather incompetent, as seen from the poor arrangement of the main army as well as from the fact that he sent out the entire air force of the main army against Tatsuya-kun.

Shortly after Tatsuya-kun destroyed those helicopters, he proceeded to bombard the main army with small light beams from the air. Such aerial bombardment could have been hindered, at least partially, if the enemy commander had not sent out (and lost) the entire air force of the main army against Tatsuya-kun.

Yet, regardless of how incompetent the enemy commander was, the fact that Tatsuya-kun's 'Angel of Light' form held incredible destructive power was undeniable.

However, even though I fear his 'Angel of Light' form, I have an even greater fear of his 'Angel of Non-existence' form.

The form he showed back in Okinawa, Japan as he easily dispatched the army that was sent by the Great Asian Alliance.

The power to make anything disappear without a trace, as if the person or 'object' never existed in the first place.

If he really wanted to, Tatsuya-kun probably could, given sufficient time, make entire countries disappear.

When he eventually reached that level of power, he could bend the entire world to his will.

As such a new world power rose, it was necessary for the revolutionary USNA to align itself with it.

Now, the only question that remained was how could we bind him to us?

A 'beep' sound suddenly came from the computer monitor in front of me.

"Commander, T.S. is calling headquarters. Shall we answer the call?" My subordinate asked me with a curt tone, though he had a scared expression on his face.]

"Answer it." I ordered.

"Understood, commander." My subordinate said even as he pressed one of the buttons of the computer.

The line between Tatsuya-kun and the headquarters connected

"Army Chief, this is T.S.. The enemy army has been completely annihilated. Have you taken control of the remaining cities in the state?" He questioned.

"Yes, we have. With the withdrawal of most of the enemy forces from the cities, we easily managed to wipe out the remaining enemy forces that still stayed on in the cities. The last city fell just 20 minutes ago." I stated.

"What about Washington City?" He enquired.

"We have gained control over almost all of the key locations in the city. The counter-revolutionary army that was guarding Washington City is nearly wiped out. Now, the main obstacle that remains is the White House residence security." I answered with a curt tone.

"Oh? 'Sirius' still hasn't managed to gain control over the White House Residence?" He queried with a surprised tone.

"Well, 'Sirius' had a good start. She managed to wipe out the large security perimeter that was surrounding the White House residence but the White House residence security has proven to be very tenacious." I replied.

"I see. How far has she progressed?" He enquired.

"She has managed to take over most of the White House residence. However, right now, the enemy is still holding onto the underground bunker, which also serves as a safe house and control room for the president and the counter-revolutionary forces. She is currently involved in a firefight with the enemy. But do not worry, the battle will be finished by today. You should come back to headquarters for now." I instructed.

"Unfortunately, I cannot follow that order. I will immediately make my way to Washington City to assist her." He stated with an impassive tone.

In response, I frowned as these words of his caught my attention.

Certainly, Tatsuya-kun wasn't exactly what one could call an obedient subordinate. In reality, Tatsuya-kun was actually a partner of the USNA revolutionary army. But even so, he would usually follow the directions that the revolutionary leaders gave him, as long as those directions did not conflict with his goals and as long as the revolutionary leaders gave him his own time to handle his own affairs.

In the two years that I knew him, this was probably the first time that he had directly disobeyed an order from a top revolutionary leader.

Furthermore, it was for his 'partner', Lina.

Not Kitayama Shizuku nor Mitsui Honoka, whom he had rather questionable relationships with, but Angelina Kudou Shields, his 'partner' who should have been nothing more than a work partner and friend to him.

However, in the end, he was the partner of revolutionary USNA army, not a subordinate or member of it. As such, I held no authority to make him follow my order.

"…Very well. End this battle quickly, T.S.." I said.

"Understood." He replied before cutting off the communication line.

* * *

Year 2094, November 8th, Underground area of the White House residence, Washington City, Capital City of the State of Washington and of the USNA, USNA, 6 a.m.

(Lina's POV)

As the sounds of gunshots reverberated throughout the area, I rested my back against the wall before my head slowly peeked at the enemy's positions from the side of the wall.

I quickly retracted my head back as a bullet whizzed past the corner of the wall, chipping off part of the wall in the process.

I took a flash grenade from my combat pouch before pointing my finger towards the flash grenade, drawing the attention of my comrades towards it.

I then mouthed out the word 'Flash' before motioning them to start counting down from three.

One…

I pressed myself to the corner of the wall, preparing myself to throw the grenade.

Two…

I cocked my arm to the right.

Three…

I pressed the trigger and threw the flash grenade towards my enemies.

Immediately after I threw the flash grenade, I quickly hid myself behind the wall as I closed my eyes. My comrades also quickly closed their eyes as they prepared for the incoming flash.

Bang!

The flash grenade went off and the gunfire momentarily ceased for a moment.

As the enemy soldiers closed their eyes and groaned in pain, my comrades and I quickly took advantage of the opportunity and fired upon them.

With our synchronized firing at our disoriented enemies, the enemy soldiers were quickly killed and we managed to make our way to the locked entrance of the underground bunker.

Guarded by two metre thick reinforced steel walls and a reinforced steel door, the entrance to the underground bunker was locked with an electronic lock which required a password that is 30 characters long.

Hacking into the electronic lock will take up too much time.

It was also almost impossible to bring down the door or walls with brute force, grenades or other conventional weapons.

However, I currently had an unconventional weapon in my hands.

I quickly pointed towards the security cameras, motioning my comrades to take them out.

A few bursts of gunfire later, all the security cameras were taken out and I quickly pointed the barrel of my weapon, 'Brionac', at the reinforced steel door.

After both my comrades and I were at a suitable distance from the door, I quickly activated my magic and fired a large beam of plasma at it.

The large beam of plasma blasted the door open, destroying nearby parts of the thick, reinforced steel walls in the process.

The resulting explosion temporarily let loose a loud noise and a bright light.

As I covered my eyes from the blinding bright light, I readied my handgun as I held it in my hand.

Once the light faded and the loud sound of the explosion faded, I pointed two of my fingers towards the ceiling before pointing them towards the underground bunker.

Catching my hint, the members of the Stars unit 1 entered the bunker, firing at anything that moved.

The disoriented and wounded members of the President's guard detail were quickly wiped out with brutal efficiency.

I quickly scanned my surroundings, firing my gun at every enemy soldier that I laid my eyes on, as I proceeded to make my way even deeper into the bunker.

Soon, all resistance ceased and I found myself facing a wounded and panting president.

President David's body was lying on the floor, red spots staining the front and back of his white shirt and he was panting heavily.

His eyes were glassy but they gradually came into focus as he focused his gaze on me.

"You…" He smirked. "Angelina Kudou Shields."

"…"

At his identification of my real name, I merely looked on at him impassively.

"President David, you are under arrest for vote-buying, fraud, corruption, embezzlement of government funds, abuse of power and treason. You have the right to remain silent and everything you say right now will be used against you in the court of law." I stated.

"Hahaha…at this point, there is no need for me to worry about being sent to trial at a court of law. I'm dying, after all." He said amid his many heavy breaths.

"You…have already given up on living, huh?" I said.

"Of course. From the moment your forces had successfully infiltrated the White House residence, I had already lost the battle as well as the war. If I'm captured, I would be sentenced to life imprisonment at best, and death at worst. My forces have been eradicated and my allies arrested. What more do I have to live for?" He replied with a resigned smile on his face.

"I see. However, I would have to go against your wishes. After all, I cannot let you die. Not until you have faced trial at a court of law and face punishment for all the sins you have committed against the nation." I stated with a cold, stern tone.

"You too are guilty of many sins against this nation. Tell me, 'Sirius', how many people have you killed for the sake of the Revolution? How many citizens and soldiers of the USNA have you and your comrades murdered to get this far? While I am guilty of many things, you are too. In the end, none of the major players in this war are innocent. All of us are guilty." He said with a humourless tone.

"Shut up." I said to him in a harsh voice as I pointed my gun at his face.

"Hahaha…" He laughed. "Do you really think a gun can threaten me now, 'Sirius'? I'm already dying."

"True. But you can still be saved, at least until your trial. Right now, you have already been stripped of your power as the President of the USNA. You are now completely exposed to the rule of the law without legal immunity. I will wait for your trial to end, and once your death warrant is signed, I will watch as the traitor of this country is sent to his death." I stated harshly.

"…Do you really hate me so much that you would be willing to murder innocent civilians in cold blood?" He asked with a quiet voice.

"Wh-What?!" I asked back, feeling as though the breath had been knocked out of me.

"Hey, tell me. Would you ever kill an innocent child?" He asked again.

"You…never! I will never kill an innocent child!" I said with a slightly loud tone.

"It's too late. You already have."

"W-What?! What are you talking about?!" I demanded.

"Look behind you."

Following his instructions, I slowly turned my head back to view the wreckage that was on the floor. As I saw a small hand resting on the ground, my gaze shifted slightly upwards as I was faced with the sight of a fair-skinned little girl lying under all the wreckage.

The white dress and white skin of the little girl was covered with blood while her eyes lay open as if in shock. Her chest wasn't moving up and down so she most likely was no longer breathing and her mouth was slightly open, as if she had been screaming out in pain shortly before she died.

"U-Ugh…what the?! What the hell did you do to this little girl?!" I yelled.

"What did I do? I didn't do anything. Why would I harm my own daughter?" He replied back with a calm tone.

"W-What did you say?!" I queried.

"I said: I didn't do anything. That is my daughter you are talking about." He replied.

"T-Then, what happened to her?!" I asked though I could already tell that I was not going to like his answer.

"When you blew apart the door with that beam of yours, the resulting explosion caused parts of the ceiling to collapse. My daughter was one of the unlucky ones who were crushed by the falling wreckage." He said with a nonchalant tone.

"W-What?!" I gasped out.

"This should already be obvious to you but just in case it hasn't already sunk in yet…that is an innocent eight year old girl that you killed. My daughter was only a little girl who had little to nothing to do with politics or my crimes. Yet, you killed her. You killed an innocent human being who was still a child." He stated.

"I-I killed her?! Y-You…why are you so nonchalant about this?! This is your daughter that we are talking about!" I roared.

"Hahaha…even if I was imprisoned or executed, my daughter would never be set free. The members of the revolution would either have her killed or imprisoned. Rather than let her suffer at the hands of the members of the revolution, it would have been better for her to die quickly, before I was captured and punished. When the wreckage fell on her, her body was crushed by the weight and she died instantly. Whatever pain she suffered was very short-lived, therefore I'm actually grateful that you murdered her so quickly." He stated.

"Y-You! How could you say that?! That is your daughter's dead body lying there!" I yelled.

"It's fine. I will soon join her in the afterlife anyway…Hey, 'Sirius', before I die, let me leave with you…a parting gift." He said.

A moment later, the world went white as the floors and walls of the underground bunker exploded.

* * *

Year 2094, November 8th, Underground bunker of the White House residence, Washington City, Capital City of the State of Washington and of USNA, USNA, 6:30 a.m.

As I slowly opened my eyes, I immediately resisted the urge to close them again as I felt pain all over my body.

I must not close my eyes.

After all, if I closed my eyes, I may never open them up again.

As I slowly got off the floor and stood up with a slight limp, I glanced around the room as the horror of what had happened started to dawn on me.

The president had set up powerful time-delay bombs within the reinforced steel walls and floor of the underground bunker. To stall for time as he waited for the bombs to activate, he engaged me in a conversation to distract me and keep me and my forces within the underground bunker. Therefore, when the bombs exploded, small components of the reinforced steel walls and floor became the shrapnel that flew towards the bodies of my group, easily piercing through the armour and bodies of my comrades.

It would appear that I was not within close range of the flying shrapnel while the wreckage that was around me had managed to prevent most of the deadly shrapnel from hitting me.

As such, though I was heavily injured, I was still able to stand and walk, at least partially.

However, my comrades, despite being in full body armour, were all lying down on the floor, with blood seeping out from their armour.

As I looked at their fallen forms in horror, I noticed that their chests were still heaving.

Thank God.

I thought to myself.

They were still alive.

They could still be saved.

Unlike that girl.

As I slowly turned around, I caught a glance of the splattered remains of the president's body.

However, I ignored it as I tried to find the lifeless body of that little girl.

That body was nowhere to be found.

Instead, I could only find bloodied body parts and limbs strewn around the area where her body was at.

One of those limbs was a small hand.

The hand of that lifeless, little girl.

The hand of the innocent girl that I murdered.

"A-Ah…Ahhhhhhh!"

"N-No! Why?! Why?!"

"I'm sorry!"

"I'm sorry!"

"I'm sorry!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

What was I doing?

What was I going to do?

What was I planning to do?

I no longer had any idea.

As I slowly turned my head to look upon the fallen bodies of my comrades, I noticed that many of their chests stopped moving up and down.

In other words, many of them had already stopped breathing.

"N-No."

"No!"

"P-Please! Don't die!"

I screamed as I quickly limped towards one of my comrades who had already stopped breathing.

"Please! Live! Don't die!"

I begged as I placed my hands on my comrade's chest.

This was all my fault.

If only I was more careful,

if only I didn't engage the enemy in a pointless conversation,

if only I immediately arrested the enemy and brought him away,

if only I was a better commander,

if only I wasn't alive!

"A-Ah…gah!"

I coughed out blood as my vision started to fade.

My head suddenly felt dizzy as the strength slowly started to seep away from my body.

"N-No…somebody save them…please!"

"God or devil, human or not human, I don't care! Just please, save them!"

I screamed out in agony and despair.

…

…

…

…

Suddenly, a familiar voice spoke.

…

…

"Very well. Then I shall grant you your wish."

* * *

As I felt a great power course through me, I closed my eyes at the unusual yet strangely pleasant feeling that it gave me.

It was an indescribable feeling.

It was strange.

It was unusual.

Yet, it was pleasant.

And it was wonderful.

It was as if all of those feelings combined to form the wondrous sensations that I was feeling now.

I felt as if my entire body was being remade as all pain left my body.

Energy quickly returned to my limbs as well and the sudden burst in energy that I experienced made me feel as if I could do anything.

As the wondrous sensation faded away from my body, I slowly got up and looked around the room.

The chests of all of my comrades were heaving again and the blood that surrounded their bodies and covered their armour had already disappeared.

"This is…" I said as I turned my head to the side to gaze upon my 'saviour'.

The sight that greeted me was that of a subtly attractive and handsome young angel, with bright white 'wings' and a bright white 'blade' protruding out from the top of his right wrist. He had slightly long black hair and a pair of beautiful silver eyes.

"…'Angel of Light', Tatsuya-kun."

* * *

Year 2094, November 10th, Governor's office, New York City, USNA, 8 p.m.

(Virginia's POV)

As I sat down on the black plush chair, sipping a cup of black coffee that was held in my right hand, Charles entered the room with a haggard expression on his face.

"Why…you look tired, President Charles." I stated with a joking tone.

"Ha…From the moment I became interim president of the USNA, I was just bombarded with countless meetings and paperwork. My god…there is just so many matters to handle. Reassuring our allies of our internal stability, warning off countries that were planning to make a move on our country, stabilizing the economy, restoring basic government services, dealing with all the costs and issues regarding reconstruction and stabilization. While I may have felt nervous and exhausted when dealing with the revolution and rebellion, I feel even more exhausted now that I have to deal with the aftermath of the rebellion." He complained.

At his complaints, I merely gave him a slight smile as I tried my best to contain my urge to laugh.

"Well, on the bright side, we have already obtained complete control over the military, police and anti-corruption task force. We have also obtained complete control over other security forces like the coastal guard. The counter-revolutionary elements around the country have already been crushed and all resistance to the revolution had been effectively stamped out." I said as I tried to offer him some comfort.

"Well, that's good. However, have you managed to stabilize the security situation?" He questioned.

"I have. I have re-established the normal routine patrols that the security forces usually performed. At the same time, I have strengthened our defences, especially the ones at the coast. We currently also have military task forces in every state, ready to stamp out any unrest or counter-revolutionary revolts. The security situation has, as a result, stabilized to a more manageable level and it will only take a few days at most to get the security situation back to normal." I replied curtly.

"I see. So that's one problem off our backs, for now at least." He said in relief.

"How are the reconstruction efforts going, President Charles?" I queried.

At this question, the president merely sighed before putting his head between his hands.

"Well, it's not going badly, at the very least. Most of the minor fighting was spread out across the many states of the USNA and the enemy units were scattered over a wide area. As a result, we were able to easily win and thus end the minor battles relatively quickly. Hence, most of the states suffered negligible damage which would not be too costly to fix. Many of the cities in the State of Washington were taken by force but even in those cities, the fighting was relatively small in scale and thus not much damage was incurred." He stated.

"I see. That's good news, isn't it?" I enquired.

"Yeah. That's the good news. The bad news is that the entire national capital, Washington City, is practically wrecked. The costs to repair and rebuild Washington City would be enormous. Furthermore, when we raided the offices and residences of the corrupt politicians, we only managed to recover part of the large sums that they have embezzled from the government's coffers. The amount of money we collected from such raids, and the amount of tax revenue we are expected to get, are unlikely to be able to cover all the government expenses that have already been incurred or that are about to be incurred, such as the high reconstruction costs." He groaned.

"That's…quite bad. How bad would the country be affected?" I questioned with a careful tone.

"A lot of poor or lower middle-class families and communities may not get their welfare benefits and food stamps. Government services will have to be cut, pension payments will have to be lowered and we may have to cut off some of the funding that the government gives to schools and to the maintenance and development of infrastructure. The social and economic costs would be enormous." He explained with a bitter tone.

"…"

"Is there any good news you can give me?" I asked.

"Well, there is some glimmer of hope." He replied with an uncertain tone.

"Oh? And what is it?" I inquired.

"Well, a lot of big companies have launched ambitious programs around the country, all of which are helping to greatly alleviate the high costs that the country is going to face or is already currently facing." He stated with a slightly optimistic tone.

"Oh? Please explain more, President Charles." I requested.

"Well, apparently, a lot of the programs that were started up by these large firms included partnerships with and funding for schools around the country. A lot of schools have formed partnerships with these firms whereby they would receive funding. In return, they would train their students to meet specific skill requirements and many of the schools' best students would receive a job in those large firms. There are also other programs offering food stamps, financial aid and infrastructure repairs and development to poorer and less developed parts of the country. All in all, they are really helping to alleviate the suffering that the people are currently facing." He elaborated.

"I see. How generous of those firms." I replied.

"Well, those firms are also connected to a certain someone. Furthermore, about a week before the coup, that person sold off a large amount of shares and options in the markets, thus reaping a huge profit while at the same time avoiding the collapse of the financial markets that occurred during the coup." He stated with a slightly amused tone.

"I see. And may I know if that certain someone currently has access to a lot of funds as a result of all his 'looting' of the major money-laundering sites in the country?" I asked as a wry smile started to form at my face.

"You are correct, Army Chief." He answered with a wry tone.

"I see. How cunning." I commented with a bit of humour mixed into my tone.

"Indeed." He replied.

Certainly, Tatsuya-kun was very cunning. Having taken advantage of the low share prices during the early 2092 to early 2094 recession, he bought up the stocks of big, stable and profitable companies in the USNA, Japan, Turkey and the European Union, eventually taking over those companies via using his majority stakes in those companies to push through successful acquisition deals. Furthermore, while part of the money used to buy up such companies came from his own investment income, a huge part of it came from the successful 'looting' of the major money-laundering sites in both Tokyo and the USNA. Hence, this enabled him to build up substantial stakes and thus substantial power in the economies of USNA, Japan, Turkey and the EU.

With such power and influence, this meant that the respective governments and powers in those countries could not easily get rid of him nor could they easily go against him. As such, they had no choice but to cooperate with him.

Well, most of the respective governments and powers generally didn't mind that as Tatsuya-kun was a reasonable person and his substantial investments brought about many benefits to their countries, both socially and economically.

However, the substantial amount of financing and help that his many projects are providing to the USNA in its time of need have given him even greater power and influence in the USNA.

Essentially, it became his trump card.

I have helped you achieve your desired revolution in the USNA and I'm even helping to alleviate the suffering borne by your people.

As such, you should hurry up and fulfil your promise to me and aid me as I carry out my own revolution in Japan.

If not, I will immediately terminate these programs and withdraw my investments from the USNA.

Do you really want to risk that, leaders of the Revolution?

Especially at this critical juncture?

Was probably what he was trying to imply to us.

This kind of subtle threat was very typical of him.

However, the sad part of this matter was that this typical and subtle threat of his was very effective, especially given the current dire situation faced by the country.

"We'll have to fulfil our promise to him." I simply stated.

"Yes, we'll have to do so. I will immediately prepare various means of transport to help him smuggle in the revolutionary members of the Japanese Magic Community here in the USNA." He said.

"Well, there is no need to feel too down about this kind of thing. After all, we promised him our aid in return for his and we would have fulfilled our promise to him even if he didn't make this kind of subtle threat." I stated with a nonchalant tone.

"Certainly. After all, if we didn't meet our end of the bargain, our honour would have been tainted. That and he could just destroy any one of our cities as punishment and we wouldn't even be able to stop him. Furthermore, it would be in the best interests of our country to continue our partnership with him." He said with a serious voice.

"Indeed. And with the substantial economic and social ties he has built up with the USNA, we are able to tie him to the USNA and its interests. After all, he would not be able to easily sell off all of his investments in the country, especially since a large proportion of his total investments in the country consist of private companies that he delisted from the stock exchanges." I said with a wry tone.

"Yes. However, it would be best if we could tie him even more closely towards the USNA." He stated with a business-like demeanour.

"Well, about that…I think we may already have a solution to this problem." I said with a hesitant tone.

Having picked up my unusual words and uncharacteristically hesitant tone of voice, he looked up at me in curiosity as he asked:

"Oh? And what is this solution that you have?"

"It's about Lina." I replied hesitantly.

"Oh? And how does this matter relate to our favourite 'Strategic-Class' magician?" He inquired with an intrigued tone.

"Well, I think that she like Tatsuya-kun." I stated.

"Okay. We knew that as a fact for quite some time already. What about it?" He asked.

"You know…I have a feeling that if Lina was here, she would have voiced a strong objection to your earlier comment." I stated.

"Oh please. During their nearly two years long partnership, Lina kept sending those furtive looks at Tatsuya-kun. Every time they talk, she either ends up blushing in embarrassment or she gets angry for one reason or another. Well, then there are times when they just have some weird heart- warming moment between the two of them and no one can actually intrude between them during those moments. It's so obvious that she is in love with Tatsuya-kun that it is almost painful." He stated with an exasperated tone.

"In my defence (?), I was the one who spotted it from the beginning. During our very first meeting with that person, I could already tell that he had captivated Lina's heart." I stated in an attempt to defend (?) myself.

Though at this point in time, I really have to question, why exactly do I have to defend myself regarding this kind of issue?

Regardless, I did exaggerate a little about how Lina's heart was captivated by Tatsuya-kun from their very first meeting.

Certainly, he did captivate her.

However, from their first meeting to the period between that meeting and the start of their partnership, Tatsuya-kun had mostly captivated Lina's thoughts, not her heart.

After all, she had considered him to be an extremely dangerous person even before their very first meeting and her mind was occupied by thoughts about how much of a threat he could pose to the USNA.

Yet, almost immediately after the start of their partnership, Lina did start warming up to Tatsuya-kun. She would be by his side most of the time, even if they weren't performing their combat duties. While he was performing his non-combat related work, she would bring him coffee and guard those two girls that Tatsuya-kun seems to treasure so much in his house.

He, in turn, had welcomed her into his house, providing her with hospitality and meals.

He would tease her and she would respond in the most amusing way possible.

Yet, he would be gentle with her at times and while she seemed to be at a loss over how to respond at first, she gradually got used to it and started treating him more gently in return.

Those two girls of his also seemed to accept Lina's presence in both their and Tatsuya-kun's lives as well.

Based on all the intelligence that we had gathered on him, those two girls of his and Lina, I would have pegged Lina to have been the 'mother' of that little 'family' of his, if it wasn't for the presence of Mitsui Honoka who regularly did the housework and whom gave off a housewife kind of feel.

That and Tatsuya-kun was supposedly the lover of those two girls of him so I guess it really wasn't much of a proper family.

Still, Lina had become a permanent presence in Tatsuya-kun's life and this fact is unlikely to change.

It would appear that the only factors stopping Lina from pursuing a relationship with him are: Her own denseness regarding male-female relationships, her own conflicted feelings and embarrassment towards Tatsuya-kun and the difficulty of having to accept the fact that he had two other lovers as well.

However, as Tatsuya-kun was escorting Lina back to the revolutionary military headquarters shortly after her ordeal in the White House, I noticed the longing look that she sent to him.

It would appear that all these relationship issues between the two of them would be resolved soon.

"Well, those two would resolve their own relationship issues in their own way. Regardless, Lina seems to like him and Tatsuya-kun appears to be reciprocating her feelings in his own way as well. Perhaps binding him to our country's 'Strategic-Class' magician would be a good way to bind him to our country." I suggested.

"Hmm…you mean like a political marriage? But if that is so, isn't that a somewhat old concept?" He stated.

"After her ordeal in the White House underground bunker, Lina is probably questioning her worth in the USNA military. She also probably feels regret, anger and self-hatred. Right now, Tatsuya-kun is comforting her and as he comforts her, the two of them will irrevocably grow closer to each other. They might even form a relationship with each other." I said with a wry tone.

"Therefore, a marriage, at least a secret one, if not an official one, would most likely be formed between the two of them. After all, an official marriage between an American 'Strategic-Class' magician and a Japanese 'Strategic-Class' magician would be politically difficult. However, a secret marriage between them would be hard to prevent." He continued.

"Yet, given the current political climate, an official engagement and marriage between the two of them is quite possible. After all, an official marriage between the two of them would secure Tatsuya-kun's political, financial and economic aid to the USNA in its time of need. Besides, Tatsuya-kun is the 'Angel of Light' as well as the 'Angel of Non-existence' that was responsible for much of the victories that the revolutionary members had obtained during Operation Changement and during the coup. As such, he is very popular among our members of the Revolution and such a marriage is thus very possible at this juncture." I stated.

"Exactly. If they are going to marry each other in secret anyway, we might as well have them get an official engagement and eventual official marriage so as to bind Tatsuya-kun to our country's interests." He said with a calculating tone.

"Hoho…you are as pragmatic as ever, despite that nonchalant and whimsical demeanour of yours." I commented with a wry laugh.

"Hey, I take offence to that, Colonel Virginia. I do not possess such a demeanour." He defended.

"How about we ask your secretary, Clara, over what she thinks about your 'demeanour'?" I suggested (threatened).

"U-Ugh…let's not do that. We shouldn't involve her with this kind of thing." He said weakly.

"As you wish, President Charles." I stated with an amused tone before my facial expression turned serious.

"Regardless, let's discuss the engagement and marriage with the leaders of the Revolution and then with Tatsuya-kun and Lina. We will have to hash out all the details and all." I said with a serious tone.

"Indeed." He replied.

* * *

Year 2094, November 30th, An unidentified shopping mall, New York City, USNA, 2 p.m.

(Shizuku's POV)

"Come on, Honoka. We still have to buy some new jeans for the both of us. We are already growing out of them, after all." I said with an exasperated tone.

"W-Wait, Shizuku-chan. I still need to look through these dresses." Honoka protested as she continued to scan through the dresses available in one of the clothing shops in the mall.

Sigh…

"Honoka, you have been looking at all those dresses for over an hour and you still haven't picked one yet." I pointed out.

"B-But…" She stuttered weakly.

"Look, I know that you just want to look good for Tatsuya-kun but-" I started.

Only to be cut off by Honoka as she said:

"N-No! That's not my intention!"

"Oh? Even when you have a lunch date with him in five days time?" I stated with an impassive tone.

"U-Ugh…"

"Look, Honoka. If you really want to impress him so much, then just have the lunch date at home and where a particular outfit." I said.

"H-Huh? What particular outfit?" She asked with a confused tone.

Seeing her confusion, I decided to continue with my line of teasing as I approached her and whispered into her ear:

"Just wear an apron over your body and nothing else."

Honoka's cheeks became inflamed as she blushed, her face becoming redder and redder until-

"Sh-Shizuku-chan! W-What are you saying?! T-There's no way I c-can w-wear something like t-that! Shame! That is so shameless!" She scolded with a scandalised voice.

"Oh? But I think it would definitely work though. One time, I wore revealing night dress that didn't even reach my knees and entered Tatsuya-kun's room. A few seconds after I entered his room, the door was immediately closed and I found myself pressed against his bed as he started to kis-" I stated with a monotone voice.

"A-Ah! S-Shizuku-chan! What do you think you are saying?!" She squeaked out while an embarrassed expression came upon her face as she hurriedly covered my mouth with one of her hands.

In response, I slowly peeled her hand off my face as I decided to stop teasing her.

"Alright, Honoka. I will stop teasing you for now. So hurry up. We have to go buy the jeans." I said.

"U-Ugh…fine." She stated before a confused expression came over her face.

"By the way, Shizuku-chan, why did you say that we should leave both Tatsuya-kun and Lina-san alone in the house? I know that Lina is still feeling down from her workplace accident but wouldn't it have been better to take her shopping with us? At least, that way she can forget about her work issues for the moment." She questioned with a confused tone.

"We should give them some space. Let Tatsuya-kun comfort her for today. Have you forgotten? We have already given them our permission, after all." I said.

"A-Ah…" Honoka said as she blushed red from the underlying implication of my words.

* * *

Year 2094, November 30th, Shiba Residence, New York City, USNA, 2:10 p.m.

(Lina's POV)

As I slowly opened my eyes, I brought my hand to my face to cover my mouth as I yawned slightly.

Slowly turning my head to the side, I was greeted by the sight of a seemingly naked Tatsuya covered in his blanket, sleeping.

I then slowly turned my head to look upon my own body…only to realize that I was naked as well.

"…"

I see…

So what happened last night really wasn't a dream…

Coming into his room when it was nearly midnight.

Bringing him a cup of coffee as he worked through the night (again).

Our faces accidentally drawing close to each other without any of us realizing it.

A kiss on the lips, just like all the other times in the month when we kissed each other.

An unexpected, sudden jolt of desire.

My clothes being removed.

His hands caressing my body in a very gentle manner.

His hands, his fingers and his mouth touching the most forbidden parts of my body.

My legs straddled around his waist…

My back against the bed…

His back against the bed as I sat on top of him, straddling him…

My body sitting upon his lap as he repeatedly entered me…

The countless hours we spent, becoming one with each other…

Before we finally fell asleep somewhere around 8 or 9 am in the morning…

Everything we did that night (and morning) really wasn't a dream.

As I slowly processed what was going on, I felt a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around my naked body.

"Good morning, Lina." Tatsuya-kun said sleepily.

A small smile made its way onto my face.

"Good afternoon, Tatsuya-kun." I replied with an amused tone.

"…I see. So it's afternoon, already." He slowly said.

"…"

"…"

We just sat there in silence before he spoke again.

"Lina, I'm going to Japan early next year so as to directly participate in the upcoming Revolution in Japan. Are you coming with me? If you can't make it because of your military duties here in the USNA then-" He started before I abruptly cut him off.

"Helping you in your revolution in Japan is also part of my military duties, as per our pact." I reminded him.

Technically, I was assigned as his partner so it was only highly likely that I would be sent to Japan along with him.

However, I hadn't received confirmation yet.

But…somehow…I felt that the Colonel would send me there to accompany Tatsuya-kun.

"…So I can take that as a yes, Lina? To continue our partnership, both the work-related and non-work related aspects of it?" He asked with a slightly uncertain tone.

I turned my head to face him as I gave him a small smile.

"It's a yes, you idiot." I replied with a wry tone.

A moment later, he pressed his lips against my own as my back was once again pressed against the bed.

This time, our-love making session would stretch until the evening.

* * *

Year 2094, December 31st, New York Airport, New York City, USNA, 10 p.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

As I dragged my luggage across the floor, with a black bag slung over my shoulders, I briefly turned around to glance at the three girls who were following me from behind.

Lina, Shizuku-san and Honoka-san.

All three of them were happily chatting with each other.

At this point in time, Lina was teasing Honoka-san about something.

In response, Honoka-san was stuttering while blushing.

As Honoka-san tried to protest, Shizuku-san would join forces with Lina and undermine all of Honoka-san's defence statements.

Smiling slightly to myself, I turned my head away as I focused on getting to the plane to Japan.

It was time for a new revolution.

* * *

Well then, the final chapter of New Journey: America is finally done! The next story will cover the High School Arc and it will be called Reunion!

Please review and tell me your thoughts regarding the storyline so far as well as what ideas you have regarding the next arc!


	7. Chapter 65

Chapter 6.5: Understanding between the lovers' hearts

Disclaimer: I do not own Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei or any of its vibrant characters.

* * *

Year 2095, January 1st, Private jet of the Shiba family, Passenger's cabin, Pacific Ocean, 2 a.m.

(Lina's POV)

As I sat in my plush seat, I looked around the passenger's cabin and took in all the details of this room.

The entire passenger's cabin was a large space, with the cabin containing furniture such as one large sofa and three plush small sofas that were neatly arranged around the room. At the middle of the cabin, there was also a large wooden table with a few laptops on top of it while a 'game table', where one could play a form of miniature soccer, was located next to it.

Of course, all of the furniture was glued to the floor so that they won't move about and thus potentially harm the passengers in the event of turbulence.

The entire jet itself was state-of-the-art, with the jet being operated on auto-pilot mode. This jet was one of the fastest jets in the world and apparently it also possessed combat capabilities that exceeded that of a normal USNA fighter jet.

Apparently, this combat/recreational/business jet had been designed, and its construction had been financed by, Taurus Silver, a.k.a Tatsuya Shiba, whom incidentally was my partner, both in work and non-work related matters.

In fact, we were formally engaged just two weeks ago.

By the leaders of the Revolution.

It would appear that they had wanted to bind Tatsuya-kun, and by extension his magic, financial, economic and political power, to the interests of the USNA.

Hence, they decided to formally engage me, Angelina Kudou Shields, the USNA 'Strategic-Class' magician 'Sirius', to Shiba Tatsuya, the Japanese Revolutionary 'Strategic-Class' magician, also known as the 'Angel of Non-existence' and the 'Angel of Light'.

When the leaders of the Revolution proposed such an engagement to the two of us, separately of course, I was shocked beyond belief.

Well, I was also quite displeased.

After all, if I was going to marry Tatsuya-kun, I didn't want it to be out of political convenience.

I wanted it to be out of love.

Yes.

I know that I sound 'childish' and idealistic.

But hey, a girl can dream, you know?

Regardless, I eventually agreed to the arrangement.

After all, this was an opportunity that I might never get again.

Right now, Tatsuya-kun was incredibly popular with the members of the Revolution.

He was also incredibly popular with the people of the USNA.

This was, of course, because of his deeds during the Revolution.

If it wasn't for Tatsuya-kun, the Revolution could not have ended so quickly or successfully.

By swiftly wiping out large sections of the counter-revolutionary armies and supporters, he managed to greatly reduce the losses to our own forces, thus allowing us to have sufficient military strength to deter and resist foreign aggressors as well as to stamp out any unrest and counter-revolutionary elements.

Those actions alone had won him the trust and admiration of the members of the Revolution.

Shortly after the success of the Revolution, the revolutionary leaders publicly revealed some of Tatsuya-kun's 'vigilante' actions such as the mass clearing of criminal groups and his collection of crucial information which eventually resulted in the arrest and prosecution of corrupt officials.

After all, information about Tatsuya-kun's admittedly over-the-top and conspicuous actions during the Revolution was leaking out at a fast pace.

As such, it would have been better for the new revolutionary authorities to publicly reveal some of their own information regarding him and spin it in their favour.

By publicly presenting him as Taurus Silver, a USNA citizen, they managed to deflect criticism regarding their actions of allowing a foreigner intervene in the country's domestic affairs.

Furthermore, the publicly revealed fact that he was a 'Strategic-Class' magician who was standing on the side of the new revolutionary authorities was used as warning to deter aggression from enemies from within and from other countries.

However, all these actions on the part of the revolutionary authorities had, in turn, helped him win widespread adoration and support among the USNA public.

As such, this made his engagement to me, a USNA-born 'Strategic-Class' magician politically palatable, if not downright popular.

Yet, such great fervour among the public and the revolutionary members may eventually fade away.

As such, if I was to ever get engaged to Tatsuya-kun, it would have to be now, when there was sufficient political support for it.

Hence why I eventually agreed to this politically convenient engagement.

Unsurprisingly, Tatsuya-kun had immediately agreed to the offer, having made the same deductions as I had except with much greater speed.

Still, I had been worried about the girls' reaction to this.

As such, I resolved to tell them myself.

In fact, I was actually prepared to get slapped by the two of them.

Yet, it was to my utmost surprise when Shizuku-san responded to my confession with a:

"It's fine. You can officially marry Taurus Silver in the USNA. I will just marry Shiba Tatsuya in Japan."

Apparently, while both the USNA and Japan had allowed their citizens to possess dual citizenship, they did not recognize marriages of their own citizens made on the other country's soil.

When I had asked Tatsuya-kun the reason why this was so, he responded with a:

"Japan's bureaucracy is horrible. As such, even if both countries recognize and accept dual citizenship, the marriage issue was shelved for future discussion and was never really approached and talked about again."

Both of them had answered with an impassive tone, as if the answer was obvious to them as it should have been to me.

It was when I noticed this similarity between them that I felt a sense of unease.

Both of them were admittedly capable people in their own right.

One was the heir-apparent of the large Kitayama financial conglomerate, whom had acquired substantial knowledge regarding company management, political affairs and financial management under the tutelage of Shiba Tatsuya.

The other was the founder, chairman and top engineer of Silverware, a highly profitable company that was leading the world in the fields of CAD development, company software solutions and consumer appliance technology.

In addition, both of them seemed to have had some problem with their emotional development.

From a very young age, Shizuku-san had been surrounded by people who were interested in her only for the fame and fortune of her family. As such, she grew to distrust most people and their intentions, with a few notable exceptions such as Honoka-chan, Tatsuya-kun and me.

Tatsuya-kun had lost his emotions due to a failed operation when he was young. As such, he was naturally disadvantaged when it came to emotional development.

Yet, he had been able to slowly regain his emotions over the past few years.

Regardless, the fact remained that Tatsuya-kun's emotional state was a lot less developed than that of others.

It was because of this problem regarding their emotional development that they usually interacted with others with an impassive tone and a neutral, some would say cold, facial expression.

While I knew that such 'tragedies' were not something that I should feel jealous over, I still could not help but feel jealousy.

After all, the only thing that I was exceptionally good at was in combat.

Certainly, my grades in non-magic and non-combat subjects were excellent.

Yet, they were only considered average when compared to that of Tatsuya-kun and Shizuku-san.

I didn't have the same 'link' that the two of them had because of their complicated pasts.

Furthermore, I didn't even have the housewife characteristics like Honoka-chan.

Seriously, it is as if that girl was born to be a housewife.

Exceptionally talented in all forms of housework ranging from cooking and cleaning to decorating the house, she was also blessed with a kind and understanding heart.

Her talent in this one area could be considered to be overwhelmingly superior to my own, if the large number of plates that I had broken was considered to be an indication of my ability to be a housewife.

Yet, Tatsuya-kun had reassured me with an understanding tone.

"Lina, please do not think that you are inferior to both Honoka-san and Shizuku-san. Even if you are only exceptionally good in combat, that is something to be proud of. Besides, the unfortunate fact of the matter is that even in peacetime, combat is necessary, even if it is only for eliminating potential threats." He stated with an understanding tone, complete with a gentle smile.

Then, he proceeded to say:

"Lina, you are my partner. If Honoka-san is to be considered as my housewife, and Shizuku-san is to be considered as one of the managers of my assets (the Kitayama financial conglomerate), then you are my accomplice. My work partner. Just like Shizuku-san and Honoka-san, you are irreplaceable to me."

Damn it.

That bastard.

Saying those kinds of sweet lines to me.

Those sweet words of his only made me fall in love with him all over again.

It also didn't help that after he had verbally reassured me, he had proceeded to gently kiss me before stripping me of my clothes.

The only thing I remember after that was him pinning me down on the bed, my knees supporting my body weight on the floor while the front of my upper torso was lying on top of the bed sheets as he repeatedly entered me.

Crap.

Just thinking about what had happened then was only making me feel even more embarrassed.

Needless to say, my worries were instantly dispelled after that incident, at least for now.

Now that I think about it, Tatsuya-kun really treats his lovers well.

He had, in the words of Shizuku-san and Honoka-san, "lovingly cared for them as a parent would". He educated and fed them as a parent would, protected them like a big brother and loved them, both emotionally and physically, as a surprisingly passionate yet gentle lover.

In fact, he even had this private jet built for the sake of transporting all three of us girls from USNA to Japan.

What should have been an uncomfortable, 24-hour ride on economy-class seats in a normal passenger plane became a comfortable 8-hour ride in a private jet.

If he kept this up, he would probably end up like one of those 'kings' who attracted a lot of girls to his side.

This was a concern that was shared by both Shizuku-san and me.

The necessary planning and preparations were already underway.

Still, now that I think about it, how does Honoka-chan feel about the whole thing?

* * *

"Honoka-chan, can I ask you a question?" I asked.

Surprised by my sudden request, Honoka-san quickly looked up from her book as a confused expression came over her face.

"Sure. What is it, Lina-san?" She asked.

"Um…how do I say this? This is kind of an awkward question." I said with a hesitant tone.

At this statement, Shizuku-san looked up from her own book as a curious expression came over her face.

"…Lina-san, I don't really mind so feel free to ask me anything." She offered.

"Well…I know that you agreed to me marrying Tatsuya-kun in the USNA while Shizuku-san marries him in Japan. But…what about you? Don't you want to have an official marriage with him as well?" I asked with an uncertain tone.

"…"

"…"

"S-Sorry, that kind of question was too personal. Just forget about it." I hastily said as I tried to change the topic.

"…No, its fine, Lina-san. We will need to face this issue sooner or later." She said with an understanding smile.

"…"

"Lina-san, the one most suited to marry Tatsuya-kun in Japan is Shizuku-san. The one most suited to marry Tatsuya-kun in the USNA is you, Lina-san." She said with a calm voice.

"…Honoka-san, there is no need for you to go any further." I said.

"No, it's fine. I want to." She stated before taking in a deep breath.

"I don't have an exceptional background like you or Shizuku-san. I also don't have an outstanding ability, unlike Shizuku-san with her financial management skills and you with your combat skills. Though my studies are good, they are not exceptional. In fact, the only things that I am really good at are magic and housework. That's why…it's fine. As long as I get to stay by Tatsuya-kun's side. Even if I cannot officially marry him and can only stay beside him as one of his lovers…I'm satisfied with that." She said with a calm yet somewhat resigned voice.

"…Honoka-san." I muttered out with a slightly sad voice.

"I will never abandon Honoka." Shizuku-san suddenly said with a voice full of resolution.

"Just like how Honoka had stood up to my kidnappers, and just like how Honoka had stood by me throughout the many difficulties I have faced so far, I will never leave her side and I will always protect her." She declared.

"…Shizuku-chan. Thank you." Honoka-san said with a grateful voice.

"…"

I couldn't say anything.

In the face of such a strong bond, I couldn't do anything other than to silently look on as the two of them reaffirmed their friendship.

I wonder.

Someday,

will I find such a friend?

Will I find such a 'sister' who would be willing to go through thick and thin with me?

Even if it meant sharing the same man?

* * *

Year 2095, January 1st, Private jet of the Shiba family, Private cabin, Pacific Ocean, 3 a.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

As I sat there in my plush black chair, I rested my back against the soft surface before closing my eyes for a moment.

A moment later, I opened my eyes before turning on my laptop and setting up a video conference with Captain Kazama.

As my laptop linked with his device on the other side of the ocean, the face of a broad-shouldered and black-haired man appeared on the screen of my laptop.

"Good morning, Captain Kazama." I said jokingly.

"Well, it is indeed morning, I suppose. Still, I guess other people might consider this to be a late night meeting." He replied with a bemused tone.

"It is good to see you again, Captain Kazama. Though, I would have hoped that we could have met face to face instead of through a computer screen." I said with a slight hint of regret in my tone.

"Indeed. But it cannot be helped. Both our schedules would not allow it, after all." He replied back.

"Still, the revolution in the USNA was a success. Our 'exiled' Japanese allies from the USNA should be returning to Japan soon." I stated with a calm tone.

"Yes, I've heard about your recent success in the USNA, Tatsuya-kun. Or should I say, Taurus Silver." He said with an amused tone.

"Ah…the recent publicity that I faced. It was a good thing that I managed to persuade the heads of the news agencies to stop their pestering of me." I stated with a weary voice.

"Hahaha…that's the price of fame, Tatsuya-kun. Regardless, people here in Japan have already linked the USNA's 'Angel of Non-existence' with your 'debut' in Okinawa three years ago. I think that you will find Japan to be a much more 'welcoming' place upon your return." He said.

"Hmm…by the way, have you received the latest batch of aid that I have sent to your revolutionary allies?" I asked curiously.

"Yes, we just received it yesterday. As we had discussed earlier, the money you sent to us will be used to buy over buildings near key locations in the northern cities of Japan. We will also be buying over some of the harbour facilities in northern Japan." He replied.

"Good. I assume that the Ten Master Clans have already figured out what happened in both Okinawa and Tokyo three years ago." I stated with an impassive tone.

"Yes, they have. They will be more wary of you this time. You cannot underestimate them." He warned.

"I suppose that they also know about what happened in the USNA." I stated.

"Well, they have already figured out most of the details. However, they are currently unable to interfere with the internal affairs of the USNA. After all, they're busy with their own matters." He said even as he half-confirmed my assumption.

"I guess this means a silent revolution is out of the question." I said with a sigh.

"You call the entire capital of the USNA wrecked as "silent"?" He questioned pointedly.

"Mostly silent." I defended myself.

"Most of the revolution in the USNA was carried out through the silent elimination of counter-revolutionary and corrupt elements and their replacement by reformist elements who had silently and patiently carried out reforms." I elaborated.

"Well, I will admit that you are correct on that point. Even with all the damage that the USNA faced in the recent civil war, the country should be back on its feet in no time." He stated.

"Indeed. The states of the USNA are now reforming their rules and regulations. Their tax codes are being shortened and simplified, their business regulations are being cut down and they have been giving more and more incentives to foreign investors to invest in the country. The recent infrastructural repairs and upgrades, as well as the unexpected surge in investment, should also greatly benefit their economy." I said with an optimistic tone.

"Unexpected, you say. Aren't you the main source of the "unexpected" increase in investment?" He stated with a sharp tone.

"…"

"The truth is that most of those reforms had been carried out in the USNA states during the Revolution but before the coup. Besides, most of the states had only suffered from minor damages, given that the resistance forces were actually spread out over many states thus allowing them to be easily mopped up by the revolutionary forces in any one area. Even the State of Washington had only suffered minor damages, excluding Washington City of course." He said sharply.

"Therefore, the main reason why the USNA stock market and economy declined as much as they did was likely to be because of the political uncertainty. Now that the corrupt and inept pre-revolutionary regime in the USNA has been replaced by the revolutionary regime which has proven itself to be capable, efficient and clean, as well as pro-business and pro-investment, business and consumer confidence is up. Investment is flowing back into the USNA, especially since the new business-friendly regime has a strong and stable grip on power. This is something that you predicted, isn't it, Tatsuya-kun?" He accused.

At this accusation, I only remained silent.

"That's why, shortly after stability had been restored in the USNA, you took advantage of the low asset prices and bought over many of the remaining large, stable and profitable companies that you did not already own in the USNA. Furthermore, as the economy and stock market in the USNA recovers, your newly enlarged financial and economic positions in the USNA would be further strengthened. You are trying to increase your grip on power and influence in the USNA." He stated.

"…It was necessary so to ensure that the new regime in the USNA would not turn its back on the revolution in Japan. Also, if my assets in Japan were seized, I would at least have a stronghold to return to." I said with a calm voice.

"I see…If that's the case, then that makes sense. But still, Tatsuya-kun, don't let your power corrupt you." He warned.

"Thank you for your advice, Captain Kazama." I said while bowing my head to him.

"…"

"Captain Kazama, how goes the revolution in Japan?" I asked in an attempt to change the topic of our conversation.

"Hmm…we are meeting quite a bit of resistance. Japan's society is much more class-based than that of the USNA. As such, the Ten Master Clans and the assistance houses have quite a lot of influence over magicians in the security forces and in public. We have been winning a lot of people over to our side, both magicians and non-magicians, via leaking incriminating information about the corruption of members of the current ruling establishment in Japan through the use of social media. However, shaking their grip on power is proving to be difficult. We did manage to retain control over Tokyo and we have gradually expanded our reach across the rest of Japan. However, it's going to take some time." He replied with a serious tone.

"I see. Then perhaps I could help speed things up once I'm there?" I said with a questioning tone.

"Hahaha. If the 'Angel of Light' and "Angel of Non-existence' were to help us, I'm sure the revolution in Japan would go along more smoothly. However, you will probably have to take a different approach when handling the revolution in Japan." He stated.

"I understand." I said with an impassive tone.

Indeed, a different approach is certainly necessary in order to deal with the revolution in Japan.

Though both Japan and the USNA were considered to be democracies, Japan's society was much more class-based than that of the USNA.

As such, most of Japan's society depends on the ruling upper-class 'noble' families like the Ten Master Clans to lead the country.

If I were to simply the current ruling class in Japan with my own allies, just like what I did with the USNA, the new rulers might now have sufficient legitimacy and the new revolutionary regime might just collapse in the matter of a few days.

As such, I had to carry out a revolution in Japan without completely removing the current ruling class in Japan.

I would have to leave some parts of it intact and replace the corrupt members of the current ruling class with revolutionary allies whom must have sufficient legitimacy to rule.

In other words, I would have to purge the current ruling establishment.

"By the way, Tatsuya-kun. We are also facing a bit of a problem with 'Blanche'." Captain Kazama said with a business-like tone.

'Blanche'?

That international anti-magic organization?

"Oh? Do tell, Captain Kazama." I asked with an intrigued tone.

"Well, they have apparently infiltrated many of the magic high schools and they are gaining quite a bit of a following. Apparently, they want to abolish magic education and magic-based jobs. They are saying that magic high school students should be going to normal schools and be doing normal, non-magic related jobs so that magicians who are less capable in using magic would face less discrimination from those who are more talented in magic and would thus have 'better job opportunities'." He replied with a weary voice.

"What a ridiculous idea. Given the rampant discrimination that magicians currently face in the job market, they have a lower chance of getting non-magic related jobs. Many of them go for magic-based jobs in the first place simply because they didn't have much of a chance in entering a non-magic related job. Besides, even if they do manage to get non-magic related jobs, there have been some cases whereby they get lower pay than normal people, though I will admit that the frequency in which this has been happening has fallen greatly compared to the past thanks to the more stringent labour laws in the current age." I said with a dismissive tone.

"True. But most people don't see that. The Japanese branch of 'Blanche' is becoming quite popular and they may eventually pose a threat to us. After all, if they succeed, magicians will face more difficult economic circumstances in the future and this would thus threaten the country's stability." He said with a calm tone.

"However, the roots of the problem are that magicians who are less talented in magic are facing discrimination from more talented magicians and that magicians currently face discrimination in the job market." I said before continuing.

"Stopping 'Blanche' will not deal with the root causes of this problem."

"Still, we can't just leave them alone." Captain Kazama pointed out.

"I know. But we could use them." I replied.

"Oh? And for what purpose are you going to use them for?" He enquired with a questioning tone.

"Simple." I replied before continuing on in a calm voice.

"For publicity."

* * *

Year 2095, January 2nd, Yotsuba family residence, Japan, 6 a.m.

(Miyuki's POV)

As I stood on the second-floor balcony, I looked over at the rising sun.

The orange-red light from the rising sun was certainly quite beautiful.

As I gazed upon the beautiful sight, I slowly let out a sigh.

I couldn't sleep at all for the past few nights.

Ever since the international news channels had broadcast the news about Onii-sama.

Apparently, Onii-sama had been in the USNA for the past couple of years.

According to the international news channels, he had also been involved with the recent successful revolution in the USNA, having played a key role in ensuring its success.

Furthermore, his identity as the 'Strategic-Class' magician, the 'Angel of Non-existence' as well as the 'Angel of Light', was also revealed to the entire world.

And as if that was not enough, his actions in Okinawa three years ago had also been publicly revealed.

Right now, the Yotsuba was in a state of panic as its members tried to clamp down on information regarding Onii-sama.

Sigh…

"Onii-sama…was that really you?" I let out with a sad and weary voice.

…..

…..

"Onii-sama…what are you doing right now?"

…..

…..

"Onii-sama…where are you right now?"

…..

…..

Suddenly, a familiar voice said:

…..

…..

…..

…..

"I'm right here, Miyuki."

* * *

Well then, technically this is an extra chapter that was meant to fill out the blanks on the plane trip back to Japan. Also, this chapter was also meant to help the readers understand a bit more about the feelings of the characters involved as well as to give some hints as to what will happen in the next story: Reunion. Please review!


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